A 35-year-old Darwin man has received a 12-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to accessing and possessing child abuse material.
The man, who was sentenced in the Darwin Supreme Court yesterday (30 January), was charged in July 2019 by the Northern Territory Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (NT JACET).
Police launched an investigation after a report from Canada's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC) about a person sharing child abuse material via an instant messaging service.
Inquiries identified the now 35-year-old Darwin man as the subscriber of an account that had uploaded and shared the abhorrent material.
A search warrant was executed at the man's home in June 2019 and police seized his laptop and phone.
A forensic examination of the devices uncovered child abuse videos and image files.
Police arrested the man in July 2019 and charged him with:
- using a carriage service for child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 125B of the Criminal Code (NT).
The man was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for the Commonwealth offence and nine months behind bars for possessing child abuse material.
The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently and were suspended immediately. The man had been remanded in custody since his arrest in July 2019.
