A south-west Sydney man has been sentenced to three years and six months' imprisonment for five counts of possessing child abuse material.
The man, 48, was sentenced today (16 August, 2024) by the Penrith District Court after being found guilty of five counts of possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
An AFP Child Protection Operations team began an investigation in October 2020, after receiving information from the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity about child abuse images obtained during one of its investigations.
Further enquiries by the AFP resulted in the execution of a search warrant at the man's Denham Court home on 11 August, 2021, with investigators finding child abuse material on electronic devices. The man was subsequently arrested and charged.
The 48-year-old appeared before Campbelltown District Court on 21 February, 2024, where he was found guilty on all five charges.
The man was sentenced to three years and six months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and three months' imprisonment.
AFP Detective Acting Inspector Emmanuel Tsardoulias said the arrest and sentence was another reminder of the prevalence of online child abuse.
"Our investigators are relentless in their pursuit of anyone sharing or accessing child abuse material, and this matter is another example of the AFP's commitment to this task," he said.
"We will always need the community's help to ensure we remain effective in identifying victims and perpetrators. If you have information that could help law enforcement, please contact the ACCCE at https://www.accce.gov.au/report."
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the 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 at www.accce.gov.au/report. 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 at www.accce.gov.au/support.
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 www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
