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West Australia, 31 May . This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Western Australia Police
A West Australian man who paid more than $443,000 to sexually abuse children overseas via webcam from his Geraldton home has been sentenced to 14-and-a-half-years’ jail by the WA District Court yesterday (26 May 2022).
The man had pleaded guilty in November (2021) to 58 offences including persistent sexual abuse of a child outside Australia, procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia and soliciting and possessing child abuse material.
The WA Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team arrested and charged the man in September 2020 after he was identified from financial data collected during a separate child protection investigation in South Australia.
During a search warrant at his home investigators found child abuse material on electronic devices, including images of girls as young as seven in sexually explicit poses.
Further forensic examination of his devices revealed the man had communicated via internet telecommunications apps with dozens of girls in the Philippines.
He procured children to engage in sexually explicit acts or be sexually abused on camera which he watched live from his home. He organised the exploitation and abuse through adult facilitators or the young victims themselves by sending them money.
In one recorded chat he urged a girl who had just turned 13 not to tell other people, saying it “might get me in trouble with police and you to (sic)”. He also threatened to share photographs of another girl with his friends if she did not engage in sexual activity for him to watch live on his computer.
AFP Commander John Tanti said the AFP and its partners, both in Australia and overseas, were committed to tracking down and charging anyone involved in exploiting and sexually abusing children.
“It is heart-breaking that vulnerable children are being degraded to satisfy the desires of these offenders, the impact of this abuse continues long after the images or videos are recorded,” he said.
“AFP investigators are committed to tracking down those responsible for inflicting harm on young children and bringing them to account for their despicable acts.”
The 58 offences were:
- Three counts of persistent sexual contact with a child overseas, contrary to section 272.11 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Twenty counts of procuring a child for sexual activity overseas, contrary to section 272.14 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Twenty counts of engage in sexual activity with a child overseas, contrary to section 272.9 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Twelve counts of use a carriage service to access/solicit and transmit child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Two counts of solicit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- One count of possess child abuse material obtained through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The man has been ordered to serve nine years before being eligible to apply for parole.
Five alleged adult child abuse facilitators are before the courts in the Philippines as a result of investigations by the AFP officers in Australia and overseas and Philippines authorities.
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
