A NSW man, 25, has been sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment by the Wagga Wagga District Court today (27 November, 2024) for 28 child abuse material-related offences.
The man was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 10 years and six months.
The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May, 2021 regarding an online user uploading child abuse material onto an online cloud storage platform.
AFP investigators allegedly linked the Central West man to the illegal online activity.
AFP Child Protection Operations members located the man at his workplace in September, 2021 and executed a search warrant, seizing his mobile phone. A forensic review of the device revealed more than 1000 files containing child abuse material.
Investigators also identified online conversations across various chat platforms in which the man would solicit and receive child abuse material from 24 child victims.
A simultaneous search warrant was executed at the man's home near Young. The man was then arrested and charged with 28 child abuse material-related offences.
In September, 2022, the man pleaded guilty in the Wagga Wagga District Court to:
- Ten counts of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to persons under 16 years of age, contrary to section 474.27A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Five counts of using a carriage service to cause child abuse material to be transmitted to self, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Seven counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Two 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);
- One count of possessing child abuse material accessed or obtained using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- One count of using a carriage service to "groom" another person to make it easier to procure persons under 16 years of age, contrary to section 474.27AA(2) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- One count of using a carriage for sexual activity, contrary to section 474.25A(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- One count of using a carriage service to procure a person under 16 years of age, contrary to section 474.26(2) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
AFP Detective Superintendent Peter Fogarty said possessing child abuse material was not a victimless crime.
"This sentence should serve as a warning to those predators who have engaged in this abhorrent behaviour," Det-Supt Fogarty said.
"The AFP is unrelenting in its efforts to protect minors and our community's most vulnerable. Children are not commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of sexual predators.
"Alongside our partners both domestically and abroad we will continue to work around the clock to identify and prosecute those responsible for committing these abhorrent crimes against children."
About the ACCCE:
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the 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.
