A Queensland man has been sentenced to a maximum of five years' imprisonment for accessing, possessing and transmitting child abuse material online.
The man, 32, was sentenced in the Beenleigh District Court yesterday (21 May, 2025). He will serve a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.
An investigation began in July, 2021, following a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) of a man transmitting child abuse on a social media platform.
AFP executed a search warrant at the man's home in February, 2023, and charged him in March, 2023, after finding child abuse material on his devices. The man was subsequently released on bail.
On 11 January, 2024, the AFP received a report from the Queensland Police Service about a user sharing child abuse material on an encrypted messaging application.
Separately, on 31 January, 2024, the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a second NCMEC report about a user uploading child abuse material on a search engine.
The AFP's Northern Command Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team linked the man to both reports and executed a search warrant at his Browns Plains home on 24 April, 2024.
Investigators found child abuse material, including indecent images of a young child, on his mobile phone.
The man pleaded guilty in the Beenleigh District Court yesterday (21 May, 2025) to:
- Two counts of possessing child abuse material accessed or obtained using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- One count of use carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- One count of use carriage service to cause child abuse material to be transmitted to self, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(ii) Criminal Code (Cth);
- Two counts of use carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- One count of make child exploitation material, contrary to section 228B of the Criminal Code (Qld);
- One count of possess child exploitation material, contrary to section 228D of the Criminal Code (Qld);
- One count of distribute intimate images, contrary to section 223 of the Criminal Code (Qld); and
- Three counts of breach of bail condition, contrary to section 29 of the Bail Act (Qld).
AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the AFP and its partners remained committed to protecting children and preventing their abuse.
"Anyone who views, possesses or shares this material is committing a horrific crime and we will identify and prosecute offenders,'' Det Supt Telfer said.
"We are committed to stopping child abuse and continue to investigate these heinous crimes and bring perpetrators to justice."
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. 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.
Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
