A 54-year-old Darwin man is facing charges of possessing child abuse materials in Darwin local court after being indicted by the NT Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team late last week, following an investigation sparked by alerts issued by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

The man was stopped by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at the Darwin International Airport in November 2022 upon his return from India after his luggage and digital devices were found to contain child abuse materials.

Executing a search warrant at the suspect’s Coconut Grove home, NT JACET officers from the Australian Federal Police, ABF, and NT Police confiscated 40 electronic devices, including mobile phones and portable storage devices which underwent forensic examination.

As a result of the examination, the man, who was later identified as a Darwin “medical worker”, was charged with one count of possessing child abuse material using a carriage service, and a single count of importing tier 2 goods, namely child abuse material.

Penalties for these offences are 15-years and 10-years maximum imprisonment, respectively. The man appeared in Darwin Local Court on Monday.

“Accessing and possessing child abuse material is not a victimless crime, somewhere in the world a child is being abused and the distribution of that recorded crime re-victimises them each time it is watched,” AFP Superintendent Gregory Davis said.

ABF Superintendent Bridget O’Brien said their officers are on the frontline daily using sophisticated technology to catch persons involved in child abuse materials.

“Protecting children from harm is the utmost priority for ABF, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring these criminals to justice,” she said.

Police said people who have information on child abuse and exploitation should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or 000.