Woree man, 52, facing almost 40 charges in ongoing Cairns police child exploitation probe Operation Uniform Kalahari

Detectives have charged a Woree man with just shy of 40 offences including grooming children and procuring a sexual act by threat intimidation as a result of an ongoing police investigation.

DETECTIVES have charged a Woree man with just shy of 40 offences as a result of an ongoing police investigation into child exploitation offences.

A 52-year-old appeared briefly in custody in the Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday morning after his recent arrest.

He is charged with nine counts of aggravated supply of dangerous drugs to a minor 16 years or more, 13 counts of aggravated supply of a dangerous drug to a minor under 16 years, and one count of attempting to administer a drug for the purpose of a sexual act.

He is also facing four charges of grooming a child under 16 years of age facilitate procurement of child to engage in a sexual act, one charge of performing an indecent act in public, 10 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and one count of procuring a sexual act by threat/intimidation.

Cairns Child Protection and Investigation Unit (CPIU) OIC Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Gooiker. Picture: Alison Paterson

He is one of a number of men to be charged as a result of the Cairns Child Protection and Investigation Unit’s ongoing Operation Uniform Kalahari, established in January to investigate the alleged grooming and exploitation of vulnerable young people in the Cairns area.

The man’s matters were adjourned to Tuesday morning for a bail application while awaiting the outcome of a mental health assessment.

Originally published as Woree man, 52, facing almost 40 charges in ongoing Cairns police child exploitation probe Operation Uniform Kalahari