Detectives from State Crime Command’s Sex Crimes Squad have charged a man after a covert online investigation into child exploitation, NSW Police say.
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) investigation into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
In November 2015, strike force officers began engaging online with a man from Sydney’s north-west.
Police will allege in court the man believed he was speaking to the mother of a young girl, made numerous sexually explicit comments regarding the child, and requested to meet the mother and child.
About 6.35pm today, Sex Crimes Squad detectives arrested a 34-year-old man at Westmead.
Following a search of the man and his vehicle, detectives seized a mobile phone.
A search warrant was also executed at a home in Thornleigh, where police seized a computer.
The man was taken to Parramatta Police Station where he was charged with inciting sexual intercourse with child between 10 and 16 years of age and using a carriage service for child pornography.
He has been refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Local Court tomorrow.
Regular covert online investigations are conducted by the Child Exploitation Internet Unit and police in NSW work closely with their law-enforcement colleagues interstate and overseas.
Anyone with information about internet predators should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://www1.police.nsw.gov.au/.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Meanwhile, police are again urging parents and children to be mindful of the dangers associated with the internet.
Safe internet use – tips for parents:
• Be aware of how much time your child spends on the internet.
• Spend time talking to your child about the dangers associated with online conversations, particularly when communicating with someone that they have only ever met on-line.
• Spend time exploring the internet with your children and let them teach you about their favourite websites and applications.
• Keep computers or internet-enabled devices in a room the whole family can access, not in your child's bedroom; monitor internet access on those devices.
• Consider installing filtering and/or computer blocking software provided by your internet service provider. The Netalert web page provides information on a number of commercially-available products at www.netalert.net.au.
• Ensure you are able to access your child's email and social media accounts and randomly check the contents.
• Check your phone bill for unusual outgoing calls and consider using 'caller ID' to identify incoming calls.
• Consult your telephone company for options designed to ensure privacy and security.
• Enquire with your child's school, public library, and places they frequent to find out what internet safety measures they have in place.
• Information on internet safety is available on the NSW Police website at: http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/community_issues/children/child_exploitation
Tips for children:
• Do not send a picture of yourself to anyone you don't know and never place a full profile and picture anywhere on the internet.
• Never give out your personal information, including full name, home address, phone number or school, over the internet.
• Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone that you have only ever chatted with on the internet.
• Tell your parents or another adult you know of any contact that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Think carefully before uploading or sending images or videos to people over the internet. Once you press ‘send’ it’s definite and final – you can’t get it back or take it down.
