On Monday 31 July 2023, officers from South Australia Police's (SAPOL) Public Protection Branch, Crime Service and Districts deployed for Operation Child Safe II. The operation was aimed at ensuring registered child sex offenders comply with their strict conditions imposed by the Child Sex Offenders Registration Act 2006.
Police attended the home addresses of 144 Child Sex Offenders registered on Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR).
Previous to this, between 1 June and 25 July, police from Public Protection Branch attended 65 home addresses of registered Child Sex Offenders in country Local Service Areas.
Assistant Commissioner of Crime Service, John Venditto said the aim of the days of action was to ensure serious registrable child sex offenders were complying with the strict conditions imposed on them by Child Sex Offenders Registration Act (CSORA).
"If police found any evidence of non-compliance with their strict conditions the offender will face criminal charges for breaching their ANCOR legal obligations," Assistant Commissioner Venditto said.
"The Act imposes a range of restrictions or conditions. These include prohibition from maintaining internet user accounts, notifying change of address or ownership of a vehicle, notifying police of email addresses etc."
These obligations are in the following categories:
- maintaining internet user accounts,
- fail to notify ownership of a vehicle,
- maintain an email address without notifying police,
- contact with children without disclosing,
- possessing child exploitation material.
"The searches from both the metropolitan and regional areas resulted in 209 houses being searched with 36 offenders being charged with breaching ANCOR related obligations."
Police located five serious registrable offenders in possession of child exploitation material. A further three offenders had contact with children but had not sought permission or notified police.
Police seized three computers, three mobile phones, five laptop/ tablets and three USB's that require further examination, along with cannabis and related equipment.
"Police will continue examining a number of items seized which may result in further charges being laid," he said.
"Police check on all registered child sex offenders as a matter of routine. Operation Child Safe is also routinely conducted and the public should be reassured that police will take every opportunity to police child sex offenders and ensure they comply with their legal obligations."
