Qld man jailed for child abuse materials

Fraser Barton | February 2, 2022

A far north Queensland man has been jailed for possession of more than 500,000 files of child abuse material following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Queensland Police Service and Philippines National Police.

The 76-year-old Innisfail man was on Tuesday jailed for six years, with a non-parole period of three, after being found guilty of possessing a range of child abuse materials including procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside of Australia and possessing child exploitation material.

Under a search warrant executed at the man’s home in April 2019, AFP investigators found more than 500,000 files of child abuse material on digital media and storage devices. 

Investigators later discovered the man had sent more than $160,000 to people based in the Philippines to facilitate the sexual abuse of children, while also identifying people in the Philippines suspected of being involved in the abuse.

Five people arrested in October 2020 in the province of Biliran were linked to the procuring of children for child abuse, with five children between 14 and 17 rescued.

“The amount of child abuse material uncovered in this investigation alone is horrifying and shows the scale of the problem facing modern law enforcement,” AFP Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling said.

“”The AFP will never stop investigating those who fund or facilitate the sexual abuse of children and we will use every resource, including our networks in Australia and abroad, to put these people before the courts and remove children from harmful situations, no matter where in the world they may be.”

The AFP is a partner of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC), undertaking 155 operations resulting in the rescue of 473 victims since its inception in February 2019.

Australian-based investigations led to the arrest/charge of 40 suspects and the removal of 160 children from harm while 98 people have been charged and 20 offenders have been convicted in the PICACC’s operations.