SA pedophile Geoffrey William Moyle unmasked as infamous online child abuse criminal ‘Waka’ and finally jailed

Global law enforcement bodies have hunted this man for two decades. Today in Adelaide, he was finally jailed for his monstrous crimes.

An Adelaide-based foreign aid worker played a central role in creating the global online child abuse trade, making him one of the world’s most infamous – and most-wanted – criminals.

The Advertiser can today unmask Geoffrey William Moyle as “Waka”, a long-anonymous criminal who has been the subject of international manhunts for almost 20 years.

Geoffrey William Moyle wearing the same watch he sported while offending as “Waka”, the originator of online child exploitation. Picture: AFP

Moyle began his criminal enterprise in 2002 as one of the first offenders to film child abuse to be uploaded to, and shared via, the internet.

Known by his fellow perverts as the man who “wrote the Bible on child abuse”, Moyle was finally apprehended in 2019 by SA’s Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team.

On Friday, the District Court jailed him for nearly a decade.

Judge Paul Cuthbertson jailed Moyle for more than eight years and nine months for federal offences, and more than nine months for SA offences.

He imposed a non-parole period of four years and six months but backdated the term to take into account more than two years Moyle has already spent in custody. That means Moyle will be eligible for parole in a little more than three years.

Geoffrey William Moyle will spend at least four and a half years behind bars for his crimes.

Moyle, 47, of Westbourne Park, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing child slaves held in Cambodian brothels.

At that time, he worked as a manager in poverty alleviation and economic progress in developing countries.

Moyle grouped videos of his crimes into “collections” for use by others and, between 2002 and 2019, was hunted by authorities including Homeland Security in the US.

He was unmasked by JACET when its detectives matched a watch, a pair of shoes and a growth on “Waka’s” thigh to Moyle’s possessions and physical characteristics.

In June, after one of his now-adult victims made a historic bid for compensation, Moyle – whose assets had been frozen – agreed to pay her $84,000.

In sentencing on Friday, Judge Cuthbertson said Moyle was involved in “the most vile” activity against vulnerable children and had continued to exploit them for years.

“You knew that by placing their images on the worldwide web, you would be perpetuating their shame and jeopardising their futures,” he said.

“You did this for your own gratification and with no consideration for the welfare of the children you abused.”

Moyle, in handcuffs, was wanted by authorities around the world but hid his identity behind the alias “Waka”. Picture: 10 News First

Judge Cuthbertson said Moyle’s videos were “graphic and detailed in their depravity”.

The compensation paid was, he said, a sign of contrition but could not outweigh the psychological damage done to that victim.

He also noted that payment was made “very late”, limiting its value in terms of a sentencing discount.

Judge Cuthbertson noted Moyle faced a maximum 17-year sentence for his crimes and that prosecutors had recommended a sentence in excess of 14 years.

However, he said precedent set by other cases across Australia had created a “sentencing regime” that should be followed.

“It’s not appropriate for me, a judge of the District Court in Adelaide, to challenge a sentencing regime that has been imposed by three different Courts of Appeal throughout Australia,” he said.

Outside court, AFP Detective Superintendent Gail McClure paid tribute to the courage of Moyle’s victims.

“The girls who were abused by this offender are now young women, however their lives have been impacted, their childhood has been stolen,” she said.

“I hope that today brings them some comfort and reassures other victims that the AFP and its partner agencies continue to work relentlessly to bring these sorts of perpetrators to justice.”

She thanked overseas law enforcement agencies for their co-operation in bringing down Moyle.

“I’d like to issue a warning to any individual who would seek to prey upon vulnerable children,” she said.

“The AFP and its partners will come for you, no matter when the abuse occurred and no matter where you are in the world – there’s nowhere for you to hide.”