NSW man sentenced over child exploitation offences

A 63-year-old Cabramatta man has been sentenced to 19 years imprisonment in the New South Wales District Court on Friday (4 June 2021), after pleading guilty to child exploitation offences on children under the age of 16 in the South Asia region.

Australian Federal Police members of the Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) launched its investigation in June 2018 while the man was in Vietnam.

The court heard child exploitation material was located by Australian Border Force investigators on a hard-drive in the man’s possession when returning to Sydney in October 2018.

The man was arrested for child exploitation material located on his device and was remanded in custody.

On 7 October 2018, JACET investigators executed a search warrant at the man’s NSW home. A number of devices were seized.

A further search warrant was executed at the property on 17 January 2019. Items seized included clothing, a hard drive and a digital camera.

He was charged with:

• 1 x Importation of prohibited tier 2 goods, namely child pornography material, contrary to section 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth);

• 15 x Production of child pornography material outside Australia, contrary to section 273.5(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);

• 4 x Use carriage service to transmit child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);

• 1 x Use carriage service to cause transmission of child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and

• 2 x Possession of child abuse material, contrary to section 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). In February 2020, Victorian JACET members travelled to the Philippines to conduct interviews with 14 suspected victims of child abuse.

As a result of these interviews, the following further charges were laid on 18 May 2020:

• 6 x Engage in sexual intercourse with a child outside of Australia, contrary to section 272.8(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and

• 3 x Engage in sexual activity (other than sexual intercourse) with a child outside of Australia, contrary to section 272.9(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).

The man plead guilty to all charges and will serve a minimum of 14 years in prison before being eligible for parole in October 2032.

This case demonstrates that the AFP together with its national and International partners will leave no stone unturned to present the full criminality of offending to the Courts to prevent harm to children no matter where there are.

The Victorian JACET comprises of police members from the Australian Federal Police and Victorian Police.

/Public Release. View in full here.