A South Hobart man has been sentenced to two years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 12 months, for offences relating to child abuse material and bestiality.
The man, 69, was sentenced by the Hobart Magistrates Court today (19 November, 2024) for three offences relating to possessing and accessing child abuse material and bestiality content.
The Tasmanian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) arrested the man in September 2022 after investigating a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an Australian user uploading/accessing child abuse material on an online picture sharing platform.
Police linked the man to the illegal online activity and executed a search warrant at his South Hobart home on 21 September, 2022, where they found child abuse and bestiality material on multiple DVDs and electronic devices.
Officers seized more than 300 DVDs, each with a handwritten title, which contained 5559 child abuse files and bestiality material. The child abuse files had been screen captured from the dark web. A laptop and a screen capture video converter were also located and seized.
The man pleaded guilty to:
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Possessing child abuse material accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
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Using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); and
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Possessing bestiality product, contrary to section 74 of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995 (TAS).
He was sentenced to two years' jail with a non-parole period of 12 months, where upon release he will be placed on a good behaviour bond for 12 months. He will also be placed on the Child Protection Register for two years.
AFP Detective Acting Sergeant Madeline Kennedy said anyone who viewed images and videos of children or animals being sexually abused was committing a crime.
"The AFP and its partners, across Australia and overseas, are committed to protecting children and prosecuting anyone involved in their harm," Det acting Sgt Kennedy said.
"Children are not commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of sexual predators and the demand for videos and images depicting abuse contributes to the physical harm and torture of innocent children."
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.
