Police have charged a Darwin man with processing and transmitting child abuse material they said he shared on social media.
NT Police Detective Sergeant Paul Lawson said the investigation into the 56-year-old came after a report to the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found an Australian internet user was transmitting child abuse material via social media.
The investigation was then started by the Brisbane-based Australian Federal Police’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) triage unit.
Sergeant Lawson said the man was to face Darwin Local Court on Monday on one count of possession of child abuse material, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and four counts of transmitting child abuse material, with a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.
The social media platform involved in the transmission was not disclosed.
Sergeant Lawson said that on June 12, the Northern Territory Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team and the NT Police searched the man’s home and seized mobile phones, an external hard disk drive, and a laptop computer. They said NT Police found online communications of child abuse material on the devices.
A detailed digital forensic examination is ongoing, police said.
Australian Federal Police Child Protection Operations Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said the demand for abhorrent content online drives the exploitation and abuse of real children.
If you child abuse and exploitation to report you can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or through the ACCCE via the report abuse button.
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