News Centre

A 42-year-old Brisbane man has been charged with possessing child abuse material after his arrest by officers from the Queensland Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (QLD JACET) today (23 July 2020).

The Australian Federal Police’s QLD JACET began an investigation in late June 2020 into the transfer of child abuse material over a peer-to-peer network.

This investigation resulted in officers executing a search warrant at an address in Inala, south-west of Brisbane, earlier today.

During a search of the home police located a personal computer with two internal hard drives, an external hard drive and a USB thumb drive.

It will be alleged all four devices were examined and found to contain child abuse material. The four devices were seized for further digital forensic examination.

Police will also allege the man shared child abuse material over a peer-to-peer network.

A 42-year-old Inala man has been charged with:

• One count of using a carriage service to make child pornography material available, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act (Cth)
• One count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act (Cth)
• Two counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth) and;
• Two counts of possessing child exploitation material, contrary to section 228D of the Criminal Code (Qld)  

Each Commonwealth charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment and 14 years for the charge under Queensland Criminal Code.

He is next due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 28 August 2020.

AFP Child Protection Operations Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said the sharing and accessing of child abuse material online remains high as the impact of COVID-19 continues.

“Online child abuse forums have grown during the COVID-19 pandemic with members of these groups sharing hundreds of videos and images of child abuse,” Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said. 

“However, reports into the AFP’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) recently from members of the public show parents are aware of online challenges and have reported instances where their children have had unwanted contact online.

“Our message to online offenders using these forum’s to share and exchange child exploitation material is that that the COVID-19 pandemic has not locked down our ability to investigate and bring offenders before the court.”

The ACCCE – which is headquartered in Brisbane - 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.

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report.

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Note to media:

USE OF TERM 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL, NOT 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'

Use of the phrase "child pornography" benefits child sex abusers because it:

• indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and
• conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not "pornography".

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