Queensland man charged with possessing child abuse material 17 September

A 44-year-old man will appear in Brisbane Magistrate’s Court today (Friday, 17 September 2021) charged with child abuse-related offences by Australian Federal Police investigators from the Brisbane Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET).

The man was allegedly identified as a result of a separate investigation into another Queenslander who is accused of sending money overseas to purchase child abuse material (CAM).

A search warrant was executed at the man’s home in QLD’s Moreton Bay Region in August 2021, where investigators located a number of electronic devices.

A laptop and external hard drive were subject to further forensic examination and were found to allegedly contain images and videos classified as CAM.

The accused’s mobile was later seized and allegedly found to contain hyperlinks to CAM on Dropbox and Mega.NZ.

The man was arrested and charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage services, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

The maximum penalty for this offence is 15 years’ imprisonment.

AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Puchala said this arrest demonstrates that the AFP and its partners are relentless in their pursuit to locate and prosecute anyone involved in the exploitation and harm of children.

“We will never give up our fight to keep children safe; and this is a warning to offenders you cannot remain anonymous online and we will find and prosecute you.”

The ACCCE is committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse.

The Centre brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online.

If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available.

Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protection children online can be found at ThinkUKnow, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

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