A Whittlesea man has been sentenced to three years and 10 months imprisonment for significant child abuse offences.
The man, 58, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Friday 19 April, 2024, after pleading guilty to a total of 27 child abuse related-offences.
Police had identified that the man was in possession of two internet-enabled electronic devices that he did not declare under his bail conditions after pleading not guilty to five child abuse related offences in September, 2022.
The Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation team (VIC-JACET), comprising of AFP and Victoria Police members, executed a search warrant at the man's Whittlesea home on 29 March, 2023, where the electronic devices were located and seized.
The devices contained child abuse material and thousands of sexually explicit messages between the man and multiple unidentified children between 4 November, 2022 and 29 March, 2023.
In these online messages, police identified that the man was conversing with multiple children overseas with intent to engage in sexual abuse activity.
The man was subsequently arrested and charged.
On 8 February, 2024, he pleaded guilty to the following offences:
- Thirteen counts of grooming a person to make it easier to engage in sexual activity with a child -outside Australia, contrary to subsection 272.15A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- Four counts of procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, contrary to subsection 272.14(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- Two counts of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material, contrary to subsection 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- Two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to subsection 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- Two counts of using a carriage service to solicit and transmit child abuse material, contrary to subsection 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- Two counts of using a carriage service to solicit and transmit child abuse material, and cause child abuse material to be transmitted, contrary to subsection 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
- Two counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to subsection 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
He was sentenced to three years and 10 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and eight months.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Jarrod Ragg said the sentencing outcome demonstrated the persistent work of the Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team and its commitment to prosecuting criminals responsible for harming children.
"Our officers work tirelessly with partners to identify and prosecute anyone who seeks to sexually abuse and harm children, no matter where they are in the world," Det-Act-Supt Ragg said.
"We all have the same dedication to protecting children who do not have the means or mechanism to defend themselves.
"This sentencing outcome should serve as yet another serious warning that law enforcement has zero tolerance for child exploitation and child sexual abuse in any form."
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. 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 thinkuknow. an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
