A West Australian man has been sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment for accessing and possessing child abuse material, including images and videos of children engaged in sexual acts.
The man, 40, was sentenced on Friday (12 May, 2025) in the Perth District Court after he previously pleaded guilty to two offences. He will be released on a recognizance order to be of good behaviour after six months.
An investigation began in January, 2022, when the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about a user uploading child abuse material on an instant messenger application.
The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) - encompassing officers from the AFP and Western Australia Police Force - linked the online activity to the man and executed a search warrant at his Belmont home on 20 July, 2022.
Investigators located and seized a mobile phone, hard drive and laptop. Forensic examination of the devices found 362 videos and 142 images involving children engaged in sexual acts.
The man pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- One count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
- One count of possessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
AFP Inspector Shona Davis praised members of the WA JACET team who were forced to sift through hours of horrific material during the investigation.
"The protection of children is one of the AFP's highest priorities and its partners and investigators worked tirelessly and relentlessly to achieve this result," Insp Davis said.
"The work investigators do is extremely challenging, as each image or video they're forced to view involves the horrific abuse of a child, but when they're able to bring an offender to justice it's incredibly satisfying.
"Criminals who access or possess this kind of material be warned - you will be identified, located and prosecuted."
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.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. 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.
