A South Australian man is scheduled to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court today (23 September, 2025) charged with alleged online child abuse offences, including live streaming sexually explicit material of children in the Philippines.
A South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) investigation began in September, 2025, after officers investigated reports from the United States' Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) about an online user allegedly live streaming sexually explicit material of young victims in the Philippines.
SA JACET, comprising officers from the AFP and South Australia Police, linked the man, 68, to the activity and executed a search warrant yesterday (22 September, 2025) at his Adelaide home, where they allegedly found hundreds of videos and images containing sexually explicit material of young victims stored on several electronic devices, including hard drives and mobile phones.
The devices were seized for further forensic analysis.
Police allege the man communicated with overseas-based victims and facilitators via social media platforms to engage minors in the live streaming of sexually explicit activity.
The man was charged with one count of possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The maximum penalty for this offence is 15 years' imprisonment.
AFP Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam said the AFP's strong collaboration with national and international law enforcement agencies is critical to the disruption of criminals seeking to prey on children online.
"The AFP and its law enforcement partners will never stop fighting to bring online predators to justice and protect children from these horrific crimes," Det Supt Adam said.
"Live online sexual abuse of young victims is a major transnational crime and involves offenders targeting facilitators, offering financial incentive to arrange for the degrading abuse.
"The work of SA JACET is pivotal to protecting children, wherever they live, and to ensure anyone who tries to harm them is identified and brought before the courts.
"For those who seek to harm our vulnerable young people, know that there is nowhere to hide."
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is driving a collaborative national approach.
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.
