Newcastle man jailed for child abuse offences
A 23-year-old Newcastle man was jailed on Friday (4 February 2022) for a maximum of one year and eight months after being convicted of multiple child abuse material offences.
The AFP’s Eastern Command Child Protection Operations Team arrested and charged the man in November 2020 at his home in the suburb of Charlestown.
The AFP investigation followed a referral from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the United States about an internet user, believed to be based in Australia, transmitting child abuse material over Kik.
Further details into the arrest are located on the AFP website – Two charged over alleged child abuse material offences.
The man pleaded guilty to four offences in September 2021.
- Use a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Use a carriage service to possess or control child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Produce child abuse material for use through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.23(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- Use carriage service to transmit child abuse material on three or more separate occasions involving two or more people, contrary to section 474.24A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
He was sentenced to one year and eight months’ imprisonment by the Newcastle District Court on Friday, 4 February 2022. He is due to be released on 30 January 2023, taking into account time served and parole.
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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