A 24-year-old man from Ballarat in Victoria was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment for child abuse material offences.
Leading Senior Constable Christopher Spillane said the AFP and its state and territory law enforcement partners remained committed to protecting children.
“Anyone who views this material is committing a crime. This is not a victimless crime. Children are not commodities to be used for the abhorrent gratification of sexual predators.”
The man was arrested and charged with;
- Cause child abuse material to be transmitted to self, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- Transmit child abuse material through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- Solicit child abuse material through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i)(iv) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- Using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and;
- Possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The man pleaded guilty last week (20 October 2022) to five offences, following a Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) investigation into an online user uploading child abuse material to social media platforms.
Investigators from the Victorian JACET – comprising members from the AFP and Victoria Police – executed a search warrant at the man’s home on 21 October 2020 before seizing several electronic items, including two mobile phones and a desktop computer.
The Ballarat County Court described this act as “depraved”.