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23 January 2019, 10:42am
Media Release

Sydney man to face court over child exploitation offences

A 33-year-old Sydney man is scheduled to face Hornsby Local Court today for allegedly possessing and sharing child exploitation material online. Members of the NSW Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (NSW-JACET) arrested the man in December 2018.

The investigation began in October 2018 when members of the NSW-JACET, received information about a social media user exchanging child exploitation material and engaging in sexualised chats with other users via a social media platform.

Subsequent enquiries identified the user as a 33-year-old Sydney man.

On 11 December 2018, members of the NSW-JACET executed a search warrant at his residence in the Sydney suburb of Artarmon.

During the search warrant, officers seized several electronic devices containing child exploitation material and a large amount of store-purchased children’s underwear.

The man was arrested and charged with the following three offences:

  • One count of produce, disseminate or possess child abuse material contrary to section 91H (2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).
  • One count of using a carriage service to transmit child pornography material contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
  • One count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

The man faces a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.

The man was bailed under strict conditions to appear before the Hornsby Local Court today (Wednesday, 23 January 2019).  

AFP Detective Sergeant Jarryd Dunbar of the NSW-JACET has used the arrest to remind parents to talk with their children about their social media use and ensure they were knowledgeable and confident in reporting inappropriate behaviour online.

“We often see social media applications being used by offenders to target children online. Because these applications are widely used by children of all ages, the pool of potential victims is enormous. Just like the offline environment, law enforcement agencies can’t be everywhere all the time. We rely on the community to help us protect children online and encourage inappropriate behaviour to be reported to law enforcement," he said.

Members of the community who have information about persons involved in child exploitation material are urged to report their suspicions through the ‘Report Child Abuse’ link of the AFP website, via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or the social media provider (such as Twitter, Facebook etc).

THIS IS CHILD EXPLOITATION, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

Use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ actually 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
  • it conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not pornography.

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