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22 May 2020, 8:32am
Media Release

British man charged with child exploitation offence

A 60-year-old British man is due to face court in Perth today (Friday, 22 May) following his arrest by the Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) on allegations of possessing child exploitation material.

In February 2020, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Child Protection Triage Unit received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States regarding a user uploading child exploitation material on an app.

The matter was referred to the WA JACET for further investigation.

Police enquiries identified a 60-year-old man residing in the Perth suburb of Quinns Rocks as the alleged user of the app, as well as an unlawful resident in Australia.

On April 30, members of the WA JACET executed a search warrant at the man’s residence. He was arrested and charged with possessing child abuse material, contrary to section s474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is 15 years imprisonment.

He will first appear before Perth Magistrates’ Court today.

Police also seized several electronic devices which are now the subject of further forensic examination.

The ACCCE is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse and 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 child abuse and exploitation 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' MATERIAL, 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".

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