WA man sentenced for online child abuse offence
A man, 46, was sentenced to one year and eight months’ jail by the District Court of Western Australia last week (4 August) for possessing sexually explicit videos and images of young children.
The man, from Western Australia’s Stratherne, had previously pleaded guilty to obtaining more than 700 child abuse images and 19 abusive videos online.
He was arrested in September 2021, after an investigation launched when the Australian Federal Police (AFP) received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding an online user uploading child abuse material to a social media platform.
Investigators from the Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET), which comprises officers from the AFP and WA Police Force, executed a search warrant at the man’s home on 23 September, 2021, where he was arrested and charged.
JACET officers seized a laptop, a hard drive, and a mobile phone which was found to contain hundreds of files containing child abuse material.
The man was charged with one count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
AFP Detective Inspector Andrea Coleman said the AFP was committed to identifying and prosecuting online offenders involved in the exploitation or abuse of children.
"Anyone who views this material is committing a crime,’’ Detective Inspector Coleman said.
“This outcome should act as a warning to those participating in this abhorrent criminality; you will be tracked down and put before the courts.”
The man was sentenced to a total one year and eight months’ imprisonment. He is to be released after serving five months upon entering into a recognisance in the sum of $1,000 to be of good behaviour for 15 months.
The man was already in custody after being sentenced previously on Western Australia Police Force drug and child exploitation offences. He will become eligible for parole on those offences on 29 June, 2024, at which time this sentence will commence.
WA JACET comprises AFP and Western Australia Police Force officers.
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.
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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