A man from regional NSW was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the Orange District Court today (24 May, 2024), after pleading guilty to 12 charges relating to child abuse material.
The man, 32, was arrested in July, 2022, after investigators from the AFP's Eastern Command Child Protection Operations team executed a search warrant at his Cowra home, where an electronic device was found to contain child abuse material.
The investigation began when a report was received from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children relating to the uploading of child abuse material to the Kik platform.
AFP Detective Leading Senior Constable Clare Fitzpatrick said anyone who accessed and viewed files of children being sexually abused was committing a crime.
"Children are not commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of sexual predators," Detective Leading Senior Constable Fitzpatrick said.
"Our message to online offenders remains very clear - if you procure, access and transmit child abuse material, we will find you and prosecute you."
The man pleaded guilty to the following offences:
- One count of possession or control of child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- Ten counts of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iv) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- One count of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
He was sentenced to five years, one month and 14 days' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years and one month.
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.
