South Australia man, 22, in court for alleged possession of child abuse material
This is a joint release between Australian Federal Police and South Australia Police.
A 22-year-old South Australian man faced Elizabeth Magistrates Court for the first time yesterday (22 September 2020) charged with two offences after he was allegedly caught with child abuse material.
South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) investigators charged the man on 14 July 2020 after allegedly finding the illegal material on electronic devices during a search of his home that day.
The arrest was the result of an investigation launched after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) received a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The report alleged a person suspected to be in SA had been accessing and uploading child abuse material to an online storage platform.
Officers from the SA JACET, which comprises AFP and South Australia Police, charged the man with possession of child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth), and use a carriage service to access child pornography material, contrary to Section 474.19(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The maximum penalty for these offences is 15 years imprisonment.
The man is next due to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on 25 November 2020.
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’
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.
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