A man will appear in court today after being charged by Strike Force Trawler detectives over the alleged online exploitation of a child.
In August 2019, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) began engaging online with a man from Sydney’s Inner West.
Police will allege in court that the man believed he was speaking with the 32-year-old mother of an 11-year-old girl and engaged in conversations about sexually-explicit acts he wished to perform on the child as well as with the mother and daughter together.
Following extensive inquiries, a 51-year-old man was arrested by Strike Force Trawler at a business at Strathfield just before 9.30am on Thursday 12 September 2019.
Shortly after the arrest, a search warrant was executed at a Strathfield home, where detectives seized several laptops and electronic storage devices.
The man was taken to Burwood Police Station and charged with use carriage service to transmit/publish/promote child pornography.
He was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Burwood Local Court today (Monday 28 October 2019).
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by the CEIU into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Regular covert online investigations are conducted by the CEIU; and police in NSW work closely with their law-enforcement colleagues interstate and overseas.
Anyone with concerns about suspected child abuse or exploitation should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. People should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
