Tasmanian man charged with possession of child abuse material

A Mount Stuart man appeared in Tasmania District Court today (21 August 2024) accused of possessing child pornography.

The Tasmanian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (TAS JACET) arrested and charged the 28-year-old man earlier today after investigating a report from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about an online user uploading child abuse material.

Police identified the Mount Stuart man as the alleged online user and today (Wednesday 21 August) conducted a search of his home, where they found and seized electronic devices that allegedly contained child abuse material.

Police suspect that the 28-year-old man uploaded child abuse material to an end-to-end encryption platform for online messaging.

He was charged in the District Court of Tasmania with possessing child abuse material obtained by means of a conveyance service, contrary to section 474.22A Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

He has been granted conditional bail and is expected to appear in court again on November 19, 2024.

The maximum penalty for this offense is 15 years in prison.

AFP Detective Constable Aaron Hardcastle said the AFP is committed to identifying, targeting and prosecuting all offenders who abuse and exploit children.

“The AFP, together with our law enforcement partners, is committed to combating child sexual abuse and bringing those who commit these crimes to justice,” Detective Inspector Hardcastle said.

“Children are not commodities to be used for the horrible gratification of sexual predators. Anyone who views images and videos of sexually abused children is committing a crime.

“Our investigators will continue to work tirelessly to track down and bring online child abusers to justice, while protecting our children from abuse.”

The TAS-JACET is made up of the AFP and the Tasmania Police.

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 who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know of any current abuse or a child at risk, call the police immediately on 000.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child sexual abuse and online exploitation, there is support available.

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 thinkuknow, an AFP-led educational programme designed to help 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, please visit the ACCCE website.

Note to the media:

Use of the term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL 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.