A Perth man, 18, has been summonsed to appear in Perth Children's Court today (22 August, 2025) over 11 online child abuse offences he allegedly committed as a juvenile.
The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) issued the summons after investigating a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an online user allegedly accessing and uploading child abuse material to various platforms.
Police allegedly linked the then 17-year-old to the illegal online activity and executed a search warrant at his family's home.
Investigators seized his mobile phone for examination and allegedly found child abuse material. They also allegedly found stored records of online conversations with other users involving the trade and purchase of child abuse material, as well as the sharing of links to websites that contained exploitative content of children.
WA JACET will allege the now adult committed the offences while aged 16 and 17.
AFP Inspector Shona Davis said both adults and other children could be involved in exploiting or abusing children and there was no stereotypical profile of an offender.
"We urge parents and carers to take an interest in what their children are doing online, talk to them about what sites they're accessing and who they're communicating with," Insp Davis said.
"Anyone who views material depicting the exploitation or abuse of children is committing a crime and the AFP and its partners are working tirelessly to combat this crime."
The man, 18, will face the following charges:
One count of possess or control child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
Four counts of causing child abuse material to be transmitted to himself using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(ii) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
Four counts of transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(iii) of the Criminal Code (Cth);
One count of soliciting child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(iv) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
One count of promoting child abuse material using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The maximum penalty for each of these offences is 15 years' imprisonment.
The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse.
The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report.
If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available, visit to learn more www.accce.gov.au/support
Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protection children online can be found at ThinkUKnow, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation: www.thinkuknow.org.au
