A South Australian man who managed a chat group within an online messaging platform that shared and traded child abuse material has been sentenced to five years and two months' imprisonment by the District Court of South Australia.
The man, 28, was sentenced yesterday (20 May, 2025), and must serve a non-parole period of three years and eight months, which was backdated to 22 May, 2024.
The South Australian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) comprising officers from the AFP and South Australian Police, charged the man in February, 2023, after investigating a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about a user distributing child abuse material on an online messaging platform.
Police charged the man after executing a search warrant at his Burton home on 22 February, 2023, where they located and seized two mobile phones. The man used one mobile phone to view and distribute child abuse material on social media platforms.
Further SA JACET investigations revealed the man acted as the administrator of a group on a social media platform to facilitate the exchange and distribution of videos and images of children being abused.
The man pleaded guilty on 27 September, 2023 to:
- One count of creating and controlling an electronic service for child abuse material, contrary to section 474.23A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
- One count of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
- One count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code (Cth).
AFP Detective Acting Sergeant Stephen Hegarty said the demand for child abuse material fuelled the horrific exploitation and abuse of children.
"These are not just images on a screen, in every image and every video, a child is being abused and subjected to a situation that no person should ever experience," Det a/Sgt Hegarty said.
"The AFP works tirelessly with partners in Australia and around the world to protect children and ensure anyone involved in their harm is identified and prosecuted."
If you have information that could help law enforcement, report it to the Australia Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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 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 on the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
