News Centre

This is a joint release between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force. 

A West Australian man is expected to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court today (6 September, 2024) charged with four online child abuse offences.

The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) arrested and charged the man, 26, last week (30 August 2024) after receiving a report from the Australian Border Force (ABF) about a user accessing and transmitting child abuse material online.

On 8 April 2024, ABF officers at Perth Airport allegedly found child abuse material on the man's mobile phone after he landed on a flight from Denpasar, Bali. This included alleged evidence of child abuse material being requested by the man through a messaging app. The matter was then referred to the WA JACET team.

Officers from ABF and the WA JACET, comprising of members from the AFP and Western Australia Police Force, allegedly linked the man to the illegal online activity.

A search of the Welshpool man's electronic devices allegedly uncovered child abuse material.

The man was charged with:

• One count of accessing child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) Criminal Code (Cth);
• One count of transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) Criminal Code (Cth);
• One count of causing to transmit child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1) Criminal Code (Cth); and
• One count of possessing child abuse material, obtained, or accessed using a carriage service contrary to section 474.22A Criminal Code (Cth).

The maximum penalty for these offences is 15 years' imprisonment.

AFP Detective Inspector Andrea Coleman said the AFP worked closely with both domestic and international partners, such as ABF to help protect Australian children.

"Our investigators work tirelessly to identify offenders to ensure they are prosecuted," Det Insp Coleman said. 

"Our message to online offenders has not changed - if you procure, access and transmit child abuse material, you will be found, arrested and prosecuted." 

ABF Superintendent Aviation Operations Vesna Gavranich said ABF officers worked tirelessly at the front line of Australia's border at international airports to protect children, both here and overseas from child abuse and exploitation. 

"We use a range of intelligence, targeting and profile techniques to target passengers who might be carrying child abuse material on electronic devices, and will act decisively with our law enforcement partners when it is detected," Superintendent Gavranich 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.