A man has been sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of nine months, after AFP investigators found him in possession of more than 2000 image and video files depicting child abuse material.
The Central Coast man, 68, was sentenced in Gosford District Court today (21 February, 2025) after pleading guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material in March, 2024.
AFP investigators executed a search warrant at the man's Central Coast home in March, 2023, after investigating a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about a user uploading child abuse material online.
Investigators found and seized two external hard drives which contained 2256 files of child abuse material, comprising 102 videos and 2154 images.
The man was charged with one count of possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
AFP Detective acting Superintendent Stuart Millen said the AFP remained committed to protecting our community's most vulnerable - our children.
"Unfortunately, online child abuse material is not rare, and is a focus for the AFP and other law enforcement agencies," Det a/Supt Millen said.
"Anyone who views this material is committing a crime. Children are not commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of sexual predators."
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
