A NORTHERN suburbs man has been arrested for allegedly uploading more than 1000 digital files of child exploitation material to online photo accounts.
South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) arrested the man last Wednesday and charged him with possession of child abuse material, obtained or accessed using a carriage service, relating to digital files of young girls being sexually abused.
Investigators will now review around 35,000 images and hundreds of videos suspected of depicting child abuse material stored on an electronic device seized from the man’s northern suburbs home.
The man will appear in court on August 10, facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Australian authorities were made aware of the alleged offending by the United States’ National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The American not-for-profit informed the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation about a person allegedly uploading more than 1000 media files depicting the abuse of young girls to various internet photo accounts between December 30, 2018, and January 2020.
AFP Superintendent of Investigations Gail McClure said no one agency can combat child exploitation alone and co-operation, including with the community, is vital to protect children from harm and prosecute anyone who preys on them.
“Child exploitation is a community-wide issue that requires a community response – someone always knows something," she said.
“Every image and video is a crime scene and it is horrific to think that young girls have been abused to satisfy an offender’s wishes and make a profit.
“The person viewing this abhorrent material is as complicit as the person making and distributing the product.
“The AFP and our partners are working tireless to target anyone who seeks to exploit children and we are not distracted by the demands of the COVID pandemic.”
Officer-in-charge of South Australia Police’ Public Protection Branch Detective Superintendent Mark Wieszyk said "this is another example of our joint agency relationship that targets those involved in the exploitation of children".
The AFP is urging anyone with information about people involved in the possession or sharing of child exploitation material are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The public 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.
