A man from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has been sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment by the Brisbane District Court for possessing more than 2,000 images of child abuse material and other related offences.
The Birtinya man, 44, pleaded guilty to six offences relating to the access, possession and transmission of child abuse material, located by investigators from the AFP Brisbane Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET).
The investigation began in May 2022 when 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 an online user uploading child abuse material using Yahoo and Google accounts.
Investigators from the AFP Brisbane JACET linked the Birtinya man to the associated accounts.
A search warrant was executed at the man’s home on 18 May 2022 with investigators seizing a laptop, mobile phone, USB and printed images. The digital devices were later found to contain more than 2,000 images of child abuse.
AFP Acting Sergeant Douglas Kinley said the possession, transmission or access of child abuse material was a crime.
“Anyone who views or accesses images of children being abused is contributing to their harm, in effect perpetuating the cycle of abuse against them,” he said.
“This was not a victimless crime. Children should never be commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of online child sex offenders.”
The man was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment to be released on his own recognisance after serving a period of four months.
The man was sentenced for six offences:
- Using a carriage service to access child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(i) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Using a carriage service to transmit child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(iii) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- Possessing child exploitation material, contrary to section 228D of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld).
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.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE at www.accce.gov.au/report. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available at www.accce.gov.au/support.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
