A 32-year-old Melbourne man has been sentenced to three years and eight months’ jail in the Melbourne County Court today (3 September 2020) for grooming a young girl online and possessing hundreds of videos and photographs depicting child abuse.
The Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (VIC JACET) charged the man on 21 November 2019 after a search warrant was executed on a Carlton property.
The investigation and subsequent arrest was sparked by a tip-off from the US Department of Homeland Security Investigations after a concerned mother alerted the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) to explicit photos her daughter was subjected to online.
The AFP worked closely with the CCSO and were able to trace the content back to the Melbourne man’s IP address.
The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to three offences, which included having indecent conversations online with an 11-year-old girl, with the alleged purpose of grooming her for sexual abuse.
He was sentenced for:
- One count of procuring a person under 16 to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, contrary to section 272.14(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth)
- One count of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person believed to be under 16 years of age, contrary to section 474.27A(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)
- One count of possessing child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth)
The man will be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 18 months in prison.
VIC JACET comprises members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police.
AFP Southern Command acting Commander Investigations Ray Imbriano said cooperation between domestic and international law enforcement partners is vital in ensuring children, no matter where they live, are protected.
“It is vital that we work together, transcending Australian and international borders, to ensure our most vulnerable are protected from those who seek to target or exploit them,” he said.
Detective Superintendent Jane Welsh from the Victoria Police Crime Command said that this type of offending will continue to be a strong focus for law enforcement agencies.
“Investigating online child abuse offences is challenging, however it is of the upmost importance to Victoria Police and the community that these offenders are identified and charged,” she said.
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