A man will appear in court today after being charged over the alleged online grooming of a Central Coast teenager.
Officers from Tuggerah Lakes Police District commenced an investigation following reports a man had been engaging in explicit conversations with a 13-year-old girl online.
As part of their inquiries, investigators executed a search warrant at a home on Milford Avenue, Panania, at 11am on Tuesday (2 July 2019), and seized a mobile phone.
Following further investigations, a 27-year-old man was arrested at Wyong Police Station about 1.30pm yesterday (Wednesday 3 July 2019).
He was charged with use carriage service to groom under 16 years for sex, use carriage service to menace/harass/offend and threaten to distribute intimate image without consent.
Police will allege in court that the 26-year-old man purported to be aged 19 and engaged in sexualised conversations with a 13-year-old girl and exchanged explicit images on multiple social media platforms.
When the teenager attempted to end contact with the man, he allegedly threatened to post the images he had received.
The man has been refused bail to appear at Wyong Local Court later today (Thursday 4 July 2019).
