The AFP has successfully had the Northern Territory home of an online child sex abuse offender forfeited to the Commonwealth.
The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) launched an investigation into a man convicted in December 2023 of possessing thousands of child abuse images and videos that he accessed online.
The man, 34, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment by the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory on 21 December, 2023, after he pleaded guilty to five online child abuse material offences identified by a Northern Territory Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (NT JACET) investigation.
The investigation included forensic analysis of his laptop and USBs, which revealed more than 6000 child abuse images and videos, as well as communications with other online offenders.
The newly-established CACT team in the AFP's Central Command, encompassing South Australia and the Northern Territory, led a separate investigation to restrain assets of the offender.
As a result of its inquiries, the CACT applied to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory to have the offender's home, valued at about $375,000, restrained under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth), and the home was forfeited on 21 June, 2024.
The CACT considered the man's conviction and the serious and confronting nature of the offending when launching the confiscation action.
This is the second time the AFP-led CACT has successfully used the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) in relation to a home in Australia associated with online child abuse offences. The first home was restrained in South Australia in November 2020.
AFP Detective Superintendent Amelia McDonald said the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) provided a powerful tool for authorities to ensure offenders did not profit from, or have their property available for reuse in offending, when exploiting and harming the community.
"Online child abuse offending is an insidious crime. This is a warning that not only do those involved in the harm of children face imprisonment, they also risk losing their homes or other assets," Detective Superintendent McDonald said.
In September 2020, AFP Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw stated the CACT would take an aggressive approach to fight online child abuse offences, including using the Proceeds of Crime legislation.
"We will continue to collaborate with the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and JACET teams across the country and use every legislative resource available to disrupt people involved in the harm of children, including by accessing and distributing child abuse material," Commissioner Kershaw said.
"We will continue to be relentless in pursuing the assets and wealth of those who attempt to operate outside of the law."
Other CACT cases relating to online child abuse offending:
- In 2020, a Belgium national residing in Sydney was the first to have assets restrained by the CACT as part of a child protection investigation. He had been selling online child abuse material from a website he was running. The CACT restrained the man's assets, estimated to be worth $30,000, which included funds in two bank accounts, camera equipment, a drone and scuba diving gear. The matter has been finalised, with all property forfeited to the Commonwealth.
- In November 2020, the CACT restrained the Adelaide home of a man sentenced to more than 15 years' imprisonment for online child abuse offences, including the live streaming of children being sexually abused overseas.
- The CACT is currently seeking to confiscate assets from one other man who is accused of profiting from online child abuse offending. In August 2023, the CACT successfully restrained assets owned by a Geelong man, 32, after he was charged by authorities for controlling, producing and possessing child abuse material and dealing with proceeds of crime. The assets included two vehicles, high-end televisions, audio-visual equipment, furniture and appliances. The man was alleged to have created and operated an online child exploitation game and sold subscriptions to it.
The CACT, which brings together the resources and expertise of the AFP, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, AUSTRAC and Australian Border Force, was launched in March 2011 and permanently established in 2012 as a proactive and innovative approach to trace, restrain and ultimately confiscate criminal assets.
The highly-skilled members of CACT are located Australia-wide and comprise police, financial investigators, forensic accountants, litigators, cryptocurrency experts and partner agency specialists.
In December 2023, the CACT announced it had restrained $1.1 billion in criminal assets in just the past four years, delivering a significant blow to organised criminals.
The proceeds of confiscated assets are placed into the Commonwealth's Confiscated Assets Account (CAA) and are re-directed by the Attorney-General into crime prevention, law enforcement and other community related initiatives.
Examples of programs funded by the CAA include: the AFP-led ThinkUKnow online child safety education program, Neighbourhood Watch Australasia, the National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons, and the ACIC regional and remote wastewater testing pilot.
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