Man to face court on 19 child abuse charges including incest

Publish date: Thursday, 5 May 2022, Publish time: 8:58am

A 35-year-old Palmerston man will face the ACT Magistrates Court today (5 May 2022) after being arrested on 19 child abuse charges including one count of incest. 

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, police executed a search warrant at a Palmerston home. 

Two personal computers and one external hard drive were seized, believed to contain thousands of videos and still images. 

The man was charged in February with two counts of possessing child abuse material. 

Further investigations of the seized material has revealed further images which has led to more charges including: 

  • six counts of an act of indecency with a child under 10 

  • six counts of using a child to produce child exploitation material

  • five counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10

  • one count of possessing child exploitation material, and

  • one count of incest with a child under 10. 

The 35-year-old man will appear before court today where police will oppose bail. 

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.  

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”.  

Media enquiries  

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

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