NSW man jailed for possession of child abuse material

A man from Sydney’s south-west has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for five charges of possessing child pornography.

The 48-year-old man was sentenced in the Penrith District Court today (16 August 2024) after being found guilty of five charges of possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

An AFP Child Protection Operations team launched an investigation in October 2020 after receiving information from the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity about child abuse images obtained during one of its investigations.

Further investigation by the AFP resulted in the execution of a search warrant at the man’s Denham Court home on August 11, 2021, with investigators finding child abuse material on electronic devices. The man was subsequently arrested and charged.

The 48-year-old appeared in Campbelltown District Court on February 21, 2024, where he was found guilty on all five charges.

The man was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, of which two years and three months without the possibility of parole.

AFP inspector Emmanuel Tsardoulias said the arrest and sentence were yet another reminder of the prevalence of online child abuse.

“Our investigators are tireless in their pursuit of anyone who shares or has access to child abuse material, and this case is another example of the AFP’s dedication to this task,” he said.

“We will always need the community’s help to ensure we remain effective in identifying victims and offenders. If you have information that could assist law enforcement, please contact the ACCCE at https://www.accce.gov.au/report.”

The AFP and its partners are committed to ending child exploitation and abuse and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) promotes a collaborative national approach to combating child abuse.

The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supports investigations into online child sexual exploitation and develops prevention strategies aimed at creating a safer online environment.

Members of the public with information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE at www.accce.gov.au/report. If you know of any current abuse or a child at risk, call police immediately on 000.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child sexual abuse and online exploitation, you can access support services at www.accce.gov.au/support.

Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed that only around half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers on how to help protect children online can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led educational program designed to prevent child sexual exploitation online.

For more information about the role of the ACCCE, what online child sexual exploitation is and how to report it, visit www.accce.gov.au.

Note to the media:

Use of the term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL and not ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

The correct legal term is ‘child abuse material’. The move to this wording was one of a series of changes to Commonwealth law in 2019 to more accurately reflect the seriousness of the crimes and the harm caused to victims.

The use of the term “child pornography” is incorrect and benefits child abusers because it:

• indicates legitimacy and cooperation on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and
• conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ poses, rather than being horribly abused.

Each photo or video captures an actual situation in which a child has been abused.