WA man arrested for child sexual exploitation offences
This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and WA Police.
A 24-year-old Waterford man appeared before Perth Magistrates Court yesterday (Friday 11 March 2016) charged with online child sexual exploitation offences.
It is alleged that, in the period between April 2014 and April 2015, the man actively accessed child exploitation material via the internet.
The WA Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) began investigating the man’s online activities in November 2015.
On 18 February 2016, officers attached to the JACET executed a search warrant on the man’s home where digital evidence was seized.
The 24-year-old was arrested and charged with:
- one count of using a carriage service for child exploitation material contrary to section 474.19 of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- three counts of possessing child exploitation material contrary to section 204B of the Criminal Code (WA); and
- one count of possessing a prohibited weapon contrary to section 10 of the Weapons Act (WA).
JACET is a taskforce bringing together the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and WA Police to combat online child sexual exploitation.
If you have any information relating to child abuse or exploitation, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Further safety tips can be found at www.police.wa.gov.au and www.thinkuknow.org.au.
Media enquiries
AFP Media: (02) 6131 6333
WA Police Media: (08) 9222 1011
NOTE FOR MEDIA: CHILD EXPLOITATION IMAGES, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’
Use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ actually benefits child sex abusers as:
- it indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser.
- it conjures up 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.