WA man charged over alleged possession of child abuse videos
This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Western Australia Police Force
A 56-year-old Perth man allegedly caught with child abuse material has been charged by the Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET).
The man appeared in Perth Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Wednesday, 6 May) on two counts of possessing child abuse material obtained via a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
He is expected to face court again on 03 July and faces a potential 15 years imprisonment if convicted.
On Monday (4 May), investigators in the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation allegedly identified the man as having uploaded abhorrent videos to a cloud storage account.
The details were quickly passed to the WA JACET, a joint agency team of AFP and Western Australia Police Force investigators.
A search warrant was executed at the man’s home in Perth’s western suburbs on Tuesday (5 May), where WA JACET officers allegedly found electronic devices containing child abuse material.
AFP digital forensics members are undertaking a detailed forensic examination of all evidentiary material.
AFP Senior Constable Adrian Guadagnuolo, of the WA JACET, highlighted the damage caused by the sharing of child abuse material, saying demand for the abhorrent content leads to children being physically harmed.
“Abuse causes irreparable damage to the victims and their families and it is heartbreaking to think innocent young children are being injured to satisfy an offender’s depraved wishes and make a profit,” Senior Constable Guadagnuolo said.
AFP Acting Commander ACCCE and Child Protection Operations Paula Hudson said the AFP and ACCCE are working tirelessly with our local and international partners to protect children wherever they may live and track down anyone who preys on them.
“This arrest should serve as a warning to would-be offenders that you are not anonymous online and crimes committed online have severe penalties in the real world,” she said.
The ACCCE, which is head-quartered in Brisbane, is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse.
The Centre brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have any information about people involved in the possession or sharing of child exploitation material 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.
Note to media: USE OF TERM ‘CHILD ABUSE’, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’
Use of the phrase “child pornography” 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 captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not “pornography”.
Media enquiries:
AFP National Media: (02) 5126 9297
WA Police Force Media: (08) 9222 1011
Subscribe and receive email alerts (link: https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases) when new media releases are published.