Queensland Resident Charged With Possession of Child Abuse Material

• Australian Federal Police charged an American resident with multiple child abuse offences.
• A Maroochydore Magistrates Court hearing on October 14 remanded the 46-year-old to custody until the end of the year.
• The maximum penalty for these offences is 14 to 15 years imprisonment.

The Australian Federal Police charged a 46-year-old Queensland man with possessing child abuse material after identifying him on Facebook and raiding his house earlier this month. A Maroochydore Magistrates Court hearing on October 14 remanded the accused until December 3, 2021.

Led by the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) began investigating the accused in July 2021. The swung into action after receiving a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on a Facebook user potentially uploading child abuse material (CAM). This led the Brisbane Child Protection Operations Team to identify a 46-year-old Nambour resident via the account they were using on the mentioned social media platform.

Subsequently, the individual’s house was raided on October 8, 2021. The raid team found CAM material on 6 USB drives, laptops, and mobile phones belonging to the man. The confiscated digital devices also included 10 additional mobile phones, a computer tower, and a hard drive are pending a detailed digital forensic examination.

The accused was not at home during the raid, but he appeared at Nambour Police Station, where he was officially arrested. The following charges have been brought up against the accused:

• Possessing child exploitation material, contrary to section 228D of the Criminal Code 1899 (QLD),
• Using a carriage service to transmit, make available, publish, distribute, advertise or promote child, abuse material, contrary to section 474.22 (1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995(Cth), and
• Possessing and controlling child abuse material accessed or obtained using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995(Cth).

The cumulative highest penalty for these offenses is between 14 to 15 years in prison. As per AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Tim Puchala, this arrest showcases the sheer dedication the AFP, and its partners exert in protecting children and also identifying and prosecuting potential offenders seeking to harm and exploit them.

This year has proven prolific for internationally taking down child abusers, like the cases led by Europol and Interpol, and we've recently seen an Australian detained for uploading such material on Google Drive.