A Northern Territory man has been sentenced to 13 years' and 7 months imprisonment by the Darwin Supreme Court for possessing, producing and sharing 3500 child abuse images online.
The Humpty Doo man, 50, was sentenced today (22 December, 2023) after earlier pleading guilty to 31 offences.
He was first charged in 2021 by the Northern Territory Anti Child Exploitation Team (NT JACET), after an investigation began with a report from the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) about a user uploading child abuse material to an online platform.
NT JACET investigators, comprising of AFP and Northern Territory Police officers, executed search warrants at Cullen Bay Marina, Darwin, in October 2021, where the man was located, and later at his residence in Humpty Doo.
During the search, officers found more than 500 videos and 3000 images of online child abuse, as well as video of bestiality and hundreds of messages to other online users about child abuse material on a mobile phone belonging to the man. Following further analysis of the electronic devices, NT JACET officers charged the man with 31 offences relating to producing, transmitting, publishing and accessing child abuse material.
AFP Acting Superintendent Mal Bickford said child abuse was an abhorrent crime and had a significant impact on victims.
"These are not just images on a screen. Every image and every second of a video has a real child being abused and being subjected to a situation that no child should ever experience," A/Supt Bickford said.
"Our message to offenders has not changed - if you procure, produce, access or transmit child abuse material, you will be identified, arrested and prosecuted."
The man was ordered to serve eight years imprisonment before becoming eligible to apply for parole.
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.
