Twenty-six men have been charged with more than 1,000 offences following one of Australia’s most significant investigations into online child exploitation, after authorities infiltrated a secret group sharing extreme abuse material on an encrypted messaging platform.
The year-long covert operation, led by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police through the Victoria Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET), began in late 2023 after intelligence was provided by the Queensland Police Service. Investigators gained access to an online group where members were exchanging abusive images and videos and discussing ways to source children for sexual exploitation.
Authorities said the group was dismantled and 26 alleged members in Victoria were charged with offences including possessing, accessing, transmitting, producing and soliciting child abuse material. Many of those charged have already been convicted and jailed, while others are still before the courts.
Search warrants were carried out at 31 properties across Victoria, leading to the seizure of about 100 electronic devices. Investigators identified roughly 65,000 unique images and videos depicting child abuse, including more than 300 hours of footage.
During the operation, police also referred information to domestic and international law enforcement agencies. These referrals led to the arrest of nine additional suspects by the New South Wales Police Force.
Among those convicted was a 46-year-old Melbourne man who police say created and managed the encrypted chat group used to distribute the material. He was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to more than 12 years’ imprisonment in September 2024. Another man from central Victoria received a six-year prison term in December 2025 after being charged with more than 250 offences linked to accessing, transmitting and producing child abuse material.
According to investigators, members of the group shared large collections of abuse material and explicit fantasies, believing the encrypted platform would prevent detection. Police said the files included graphic images and videos involving infants and young children.
Authorities said no newly created material involving Australian children was identified during the investigation, although officers are continuing to work with international partners to identify victims and offenders depicted in the seized files.
Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason from the Australian Federal Police said the content uncovered during the investigation was among the most disturbing encountered by experienced child protection investigators. He said the operation had disrupted a network that enabled the sharing and circulation of violent abuse material, while highlighting the scale of online child exploitation.
Victoria Police Cybercrime Division Detective Superintendent Tim McKinney said investigators had reviewed hundreds of hours of disturbing content and also uncovered conversations in which group members discussed finding children in real life. He said most of the men charged had not previously come to the attention of police and warned there was no typical profile of offenders involved in such crimes.
Police said the material recovered from the investigation has been uploaded to the International Child Sexual Exploitation database to support global efforts to identify victims and perpetrators.
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