Alec Stephen West, 31, accused of child abuse material charges, considering plea offer

A Geelong man accused of creating a “horrifying” online child exploitation game is mulling a plea offer from the prosecution, a court has heard.

Alec Stephen West leaving Geelong Magistrates Court in February.

A Geelong man accused of creating a “horrifying” online child exploitation game is mulling a plea offer from the prosecution, a court has heard.

Alec Stephen West is accused of 27 charges, including controlling an electronic server of child abuse material, multiple counts of possessing, producing and transmitting child abuse material and three charges of stalking.

He has not yet entered a plea in regard to the charges.

The 31-year-old man was arrested by Australian Federal Police on August 2 last year following an investigation by the Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET).

Mr West appeared in Geelong Magistrate Court on Wednesday morning, wearing a dark shirt, and did not speak.

Mr West’s defence lawyer, Tim Hancock, said Mr West had been waiting on legal advice after receiving an offer from the prosecution to resolve the matter.

Mr West had “gone back” to the prosecution and was seeking clarification from them on “one charge only”, Mr Hancock said.

Mr Hancock asked for an adjournment so the prosecution could reply to Mr West’s questions.

Magistrate Peter Mellas granted the request, but noted it had been “two months” since a previous committal mention.

The court heard the matter was previously heard on February 14, and the offer “didn’t come through” until the 21st, after which Mr West had to “get together the funds” before he was able to seek the advice, Mr Hancock said.

Mr West was previously denied access to Victorian Legal Aid.

According to the AFP, the game Mr West is accused of creating is subscription-based, and entirely made up of animated images, which is an offence in Australia.

Commander Paul O’Halloran described the arrest as a “landmark investigation” in a statement in August last year.

“For someone to create this kind of platform and treat this crime theme as a game, is completely horrifying, especially when that person is essentially in our own backyard,” he said.

“While the material on the platform does not involve live children, it has been created to mimic that and this is clearly of great concern to us.”

The matter was adjourned to a further committal mention on May 7 and Mr West’s bail was extended.

Originally published as Alec Stephen West, 31, accused of child abuse material charges, considering plea offer