A Perth man was sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment by the Perth District Court on Friday (21 June, 2024) for accessing and sharing child abuse material.
The Girrawheen man, 25, pleaded guilty in March, 2024, to one count of accessing child abuse material and one count of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed through a carriage service contrary to the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) charged the man in September, 2023, after investigating a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
WA JACET investigators executed a search warrant at his home in the Perth suburb of Girrawheen on 29 September, 2023, and found child abuse material on two mobile phones.
AFP Detective Sergeant Karen Addiscott said anyone who viewed images and videos of children being sexually abused was committing a crime.
"The AFP and its partners are committed to protecting children and we will prosecute anyone involved in perpetuating the cycle of abuse," Detective Sergeant Addiscott said.
"Every time an offender shares or accesses an image or video of child abuse, they are continuing the abuse of that child."
The man was sentenced to two years and six months' jail with a non-parole period of 12 months.
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.
