A South Australian man has today (3 June 2024) been sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment for soliciting sexually explicit material from 10 foreign children via social media platforms.
The man, 42, communicated with his victims on social media platform Snapchat, encouraging them to engage in sexual activity and send explicit images of themselves.
The man had previously pleaded guilty in the Adelaide Magistrates Court to 14 online child abuse offences.
The sentencing is the first conviction in South Australia under mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for Commonwealth child sexual abuse offences.
The South Australian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET), comprising members from the Australian Federal Police and South Australia Police, started an investigation after the UK's, West Mercia Police referred a report of a teenager engaging online with a man suspected to be based in South Australia.
The SA JACET subsequently identified the man and executed a search warrant at his Edwardstown home in October 2022. Investigators seized a mobile phone that contained sexually explicit communications with 10 young victims - aged 11 to 16 at the time of the offending - from across the United Kingdom and Canada, along with numerous files containing child abuse images.
AFP Sergeant Joe Barry said the AFP had strong working relationships with international law enforcement partners that enabled the Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team to bring to justice a man who caused significant harm to young victims.
"We cannot send a clearer message to offenders - if you engage in these abhorrent activities, you will be found and face the full force of the law," Sgt Barry said.
"Online child abuse causes significant harm to victims who suffer each time images or videos of their abuse is accessed and shared.
"South Australian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team members regularly have to deal with the most abhorrent aspects of child sexual abuse and I'd like to thank them in their relentless pursuit to protect children and prosecute those who cause them harm.
"We encourage parents to talk to their children about their online activities, keep up the conversations and keep them open. It's never been more important to understand the dangers we perceive in the real world are just as prevalent in the online world."
The man pleaded guilty in December, 2023, to:
- One count of possessing child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Two counts of using a carriage service to cause offence, contrary to section 474.17 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Three counts of using a carriage service for sexual activity with a person under 16, contrary to section 22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Three counts of soliciting child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- Five counts of causing child abuse material to be transmitted to himself using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(ii) of theCriminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The man was sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 17 years.
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 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.
