Victorian man jailed for child abuse related offences

This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police

A Victorian man has been sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 10 months, for accessing and possessing child abuse material online.

The man, 26, was sentenced yesterday (3 October, 2024) by the Melbourne County Court after pleading guilty to two charges.

The Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET), comprising the AFP and Victoria Police, charged the man in March, 2023, after investigators received a report from the United States about an individual uploading child abuse material online.

The man was arrested at his Shepparton East home on 10 March, 2023, after investigators located child abuse material on his mobile phone. During a search of his property, police found child abuse material on electronic devices, including a laptop and hard drive, which were seized for further digital forensic analysis.

Later analysis revealed the man had paid for a subscription to a website hosting and uploading child abuse material.

The man pleaded guilty on 18 September, 2024 to:

• One count of possessing child abuse material obtained using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); and
• One count of access child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

AFP Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason said the AFP had strong working relationships with law enforcement partners that enabled the Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team to find justice for the children hurt by these online crimes.

"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," Detective Superintendent Geason said.

"Online child abuse causes significant harm to victims who suffer each time images or videos of their abuse is accessed and shared.

"Victorian 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."

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.

For more information on the role of the ACCCE, what is online child sexual exploitation and how to report it visit www.accce.gov.au.

Note to media:

Use of term 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL not 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material - the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

Use of the phrase 'child pornography' is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

• indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and
• conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

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