A Brisbane man, 24, has been sentenced to 14 months imprisonment after uploading hundreds of child abuse images to cloud storage and possessing a childlike sex doll.
The Wishart man was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court on 14 February, 2023, following two separate investigations started respectively by the AFP and Australian Border Force (ABF).
The AFP started its investigation in February, 2020, after receiving a report from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about 1000 files of child abuse material that had been uploaded to cloud storage and Skype.
Investigators from the Brisbane Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) linked the Wishart man to the offending and executed a search warrant at his home in June 2020.
The man's mobile phone, laptop computer and an external hard drive were all seized and found to contain child abuse material. Investigators also found a significant amount of child abuse material in a cloud storage account the man controlled. The AFP arrested the man and he was charged with eight offences.
The Australian Border Force (ABF) started a separate investigation in May, 2021, after officers detected a consignment from Japan addressed to the man's home containing a childlike sex doll.
Less than a week later, ABF officers executed a search warrant at the man's home and arrested him. The man was charged with one further offence.
The man pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court to nine charges:
- Two counts of using a carriage service to access child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- One count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22 (1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- Five counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- One count of possessing a childlike sex doll, contrary to section 273A.1 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The man was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to 14 months and 15 days' imprisonment. He will be eligible for parole after serving two months and 15 days.
AFP Acting Superintendent Mary Bolton said investigators worked closely with domestic and international partners to keep children safe.
"Our investigators work tirelessly to identify offenders and ensure they are prosecuted,"' a/Supt Bolton said.
ABF Superintendent Investigations QLD Amanda Coppleman said ABF officers work with the utmost diligence to disrupt the efforts of those attempting to import child-like sex dolls into Australia.
"The extensive work and effort by ABF officers in detecting the child-like sex doll, show the value in our training and expertise in stopping harmful goods crossing the Australian border," Superintendent Coppleman said.
"The ABF continues to maintain a firm stance on the importation of any illegal material into Australia."
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE at www.accce.gov.au/report. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available at www.accce.gov.au/support.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
