A Gold Coast man was Thursday sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by the Southport District Court for online child abuse material offences.
The man, 60, was released immediately on entering a recognizance order to serve his sentence in the community as long as he remains of good behaviour for a three-year period, including two years of supervision by a probation officer.
In September 2021, the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the uploading of child abuse material to an online storage platform.
The Northern Command Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (NC JACET) linked the man to illegal online activity and executed a search warrant at his Merrimac home in June 2022.
Digital forensic analysis of a computer tower seized by investigators found 104 videos and one image of child abuse.
The man was arrested and charged with two online child abuse material offences.
At a hearing in March 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to sections 474.22(1)(a)(i) (aa) and (b) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and one count of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code (Cth).
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Tim Puchala said children were not commodities for sexual gratification.
“Anyone viewing online child abuse material is feeding demand for children to be harmed,” Det a/Superintendent Puchala said. “Behind every image is a real child being subjected to trauma that could stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
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.
