Man charged with possessing child abuse material

A 35-year-old Palmerston man has been charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material following a police operation yesterday (24 February 2022).   

In February 2022, members of the ACT Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) received information from the Australian Center to Counter Child Exploitation regarding the alleged peer to peer sharing of child abuse material.  

After a month of investigation by officers from the ACT JACET with support from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team, AFP Victim Identification Team, a technology detection dog and the AFP Digital Forensics Team executed a search warrant at a Palmerston home yesterday. 

Two personal computers and one external hard drive were seized, believed to contain thousands of videos and still images. The items seized during the warrant will be forensically examined and further charges may be laid. 

The 35-year-old man will appear before the ACT Magistrates Court this morning (25 February 2022).  

Conviction of these charges is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years. 

Anyone with information regarding the accessing or creation of child abuse material is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously.  

Media enquiries  

Police Media — (02) 5126 9070, act-police-media@afp.gov.au 

Note to media: USE OF TERM ‘CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL’, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’  

Use of the phrase “child pornography” benefits child sex abusers because it:  

• Indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and   

• Conjures images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.  

Each photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not ‘pornography”.