News Centre

Editor’s note: Vision and images are available via Hightail

A Queensland woman and a US man have been sentenced to a combined 18 years’ imprisonment for the sexual abuse of her child, as well as producing and transmitting child abuse material.

The woman, 23, was sentenced by the Brisbane District Court today (29 August, 2024), after pleading guilty in February, 2024, to 21 child abuse-related offences.

The Brisbane Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) started investigating the woman after receiving information in early 2022 from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which identified a user transmitting child abuse material on Snapchat.

Brisbane JACET investigators executed a search warrant at a Marsden home in April, 2022, where officers located a mobile phone containing child abuse material.

A girl located at the address was removed from further harm and the woman was arrested and charged with 21 offences, including;

• Two counts of rape (domestic violence offence), contrary to section 349(1) of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld);
• Six counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, under 12, as lineal descendent (domestic violence offence), contrary to sections 210(a)(a)(3) & (4) of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld);
• Ten counts of making child exploitation material (domestic violence offence), contrary to section 228B(1)(b) of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld);
• One count of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
• One count of using a carriage service to cause child abuse material to be transmitted to self, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
• One count of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

Following forensic examination of the woman’s mobile phone, investigators found evidence of further abuse being planned with a man located in Ohio, in the United States.

Officers from Brisbane JACET provided a report to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Cincinnati and a man, was arrested and charged.

The man was prosecuted in Ohio and in April, 2024, he was convicted of one count of possession of child abuse material and one count of distribution of child abuse material and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The Queensland woman was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and eight months’.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Tim Puchala said the case showed why the AFP’s relationship with international law enforcement partners was so vital for detecting children in harmful situations.

“The AFP and our partners around the world are working tirelessly working together to protect children and bring to justice those who harm them or seek to exploit them,” Detective Acting Superintendent Tim Puchala said.

“Child abuse causes significant harm to victims, which they carry with them for the rest of their lives – that is why we will not stop fighting to protect them, whenever and wherever we can.”

HSI Attache Ernest Verina said: “I commend the outstanding work by the Australian investigators and officers and am extremely grateful for their rapid information-sharing that took a sexual predator off the streets in the USA”.

“The dynamic and successful international partnership between the ACCCE and HSI is the best way to protect our children from online predators,” he said.

The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (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. 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.

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 the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

For more information on the role of the ACCCE, what is online child sexual exploitation and how to report it visit the ACCCE website.

Note to media

Use of term 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL not ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

Use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ is inaccurate and 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 or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.