News Centre

Editor’s Note: Audio grabs by AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Jeremy Staunton available via hightail.

A NSW man has been sentenced to three years and four months’ jail in the Wollongong District Court yesterday (24 August 2023) for online child abuse offences.

The man, 51, was arrested in July 2022 following a search warrant executed at his Mount Pleasant home in March 2022, where the AFP seized electronic devices that were later found to contain child abuse material.

The man pleaded guilty to two child abuse-related offences on 15 June 2023 at Wollongong Local Court.

• One count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); and
• One count of transmitting child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

The man was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years’ imprisonment.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Jeremy Staunton said the AFP remained committed to identifying offenders who shared or accessed child abuse material.

“The results of this investigation show that anyone who views child abuse material is committing a crime and risks imprisonment,” he said.

“The AFP is working closely with its international partners to identify Australian offenders involved in fuelling an industry that exploits children.”

The investigation began in February 2021 when the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about an online user uploading child abuse material to social media platforms and adult chat sites.

The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation 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 at www.accce.gov.au/report. 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 at www.accce.gov.au/support.

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 www.thinkuknow.org.au, 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 www.accce.gov.au.

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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