News Centre

This is a joint release between the Australian Federal Police and Western Australia Police Force

A Ballajura man, 20, is expected to appear in Perth Magistrates Court today (23 August, 2024) charged with allegedly accessing and possessing child abuse material.

The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) charged the man yesterday (22 August, 2024) after investigating a report from the United States National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a user uploading child abuse material to an online platform.

WA JACET, which comprises AFP and Western Australia Police Force officers, allegedly linked the man to the illegal online activity.

A search warrant was executed at the man’s Ballajura home yesterday (22 August, 2024), with investigators allegedly finding child abuse material on a computer hard drive. The hard drive and another electronic device will be subject to further forensic examination.

The man was arrested and charged with:

• One count of possessing child abuse material obtained using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
• One count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

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

AFP Detective Sergeant Karen Addiscott said the AFP and its partners were dedicated to fighting child sexual abuse and bringing alleged offenders before the courts.

"Accessing child abuse material is not victimless. It's not just a photo or video on the internet – it involves the exploitation and harm of children and anyone who accesses this material is complicit in the abuse,” Detective Sergeant Addiscott said.

She said police needed the community’s help to ensure they were effective in identifying victims and perpetrators.

“If you have information that could help law enforcement, please contact the ACCCE at www.accce.gov.au/report,” Detective Sergeant Addiscott 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.