Two Northern Territory men are set to appear in Darwin Magistrate's Court this week after last week being charged in separate matters with accessing and possessing child abuse material.
Northern Territory Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (NT JACET) charged one of the men, 37, on 14 November, 2024.
The investigation began when the NT JACET received an AFP intelligence report on a person based in Australia sending money to a known child exploitation facilitator in the Philippines. AFP investigators allegedly linked the 37-year-old man to the illegal online activity.
A search warrant was executed at the man's Karama home on 14 November, 2024, with investigators allegedly finding child abuse material on electronic devices. The devices will be subject to further forensic examination.
In a second unrelated matter, the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report in October, 2024, from an online dating website about a man allegedly soliciting online child abuse material.
This report allegedly related to someone attempting to procure child abuse material of a mother and young child in a foreign country.
A search warrant was executed at the home of a man, 66, in Durack, south-east of Darwin, on Wednesday, 13 November, 2024. Members of the NT JACET charged the man after allegedly finding child abuse material on electronic devices. The devices are subject to further forensic examination.
AFP Superintendent Gregory Davis said the AFP, together with its state and territory law enforcement partners, remained committed to protecting our community's most vulnerable - our children.
"Anyone who views this material is committing a crime,'' Supt. Gregory Davis said.
"Our message to online offenders has not changed - If you procure, access and transmit child abuse material, you will be found, arrested and prosecuted."
Northern Territory Police Force Detective acting Sergeant Duane Commander said: "We are committed to bringing any individual viewing child abuse material before the courts."
"Anyone who views this abhorrent material is committing a serious crime and will face the full force of the law.
"Our priority is to protect vulnerable children and hold offenders accountable for their actions."
The Karama man, 37, was charged with:
- Three counts of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1979 (Cth); and
- Three counts of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The maximum penalty for each offence is 15 years' imprisonment.
He appeared before Darwin Local Court on 15 November, 2024, and was remanded in custody to return to the same court on 22 November, 2024.
The Durack man, 66, has been charged with three offences:
- One count of grooming person to make it easier to engage in sexual activity with a child outside Australia, contrary to s.272.15A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- One count of access child abuse material, contrary to s474.22(1)(a)(i) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- Two counts possess child abuse material, contrary to s474.22A Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The maximum penalty for each offence is 15 years' imprisonment.
He appeared before Darwin Magistrate's Court on 15 November, 2024. He was remanded in custody to return to the same court on 20 November, 2024.
The NT JACET comprises AFP and Northern Territory Police Force officers.
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.
