Ryan Potts among 58 Queenslanders charged as part of Operation Molto

A Kingaroy man, among 58 Queenslanders charged with possessing, making or distributing horror child sex abuse material as part of a major police operation, has had his case mentioned in court. Read what happened in his latest appearance:

A Kingaroy man charged with making and possessing a “large volume” horrific child abuse material has been given a new date for court.

Ryan Potts, 26, was charged with more than a dozen offences in October 2021 after detectives from Argos and the Kingaroy Child Protection and Investigation Unit allegedly searched a Kingaroy property.

Mr Potts was charged with four counts of possessing child exploitation material, five counts of making child exploitation material, three counts of using a carriage service to access child abuse material and three counts of using a carriage service to distribute child abuse material.

His case was again mentioned in the Kingaroy Magistrates court on March 3.

Mr Potts did not appear in person, with his lawyer Kristy Bell phoning into the court.

Ms Bell told the court she was still waiting for addition material for police that was in the process of being redacted.

The case was adjourned to April 14, with Ms Bell indicating it was likely to proceed to a registry committal.

Mr Potts was one of 58 Queenslanders charged with possessing, making or distributing horror child sex abuse material as part of a major international police crack down.

Detectives from Argos and the Kingaroy Child Protection and Investigation Unit charged the 26-year-old man with child sex offences.

As part of Operation Molto, Queensland Police have removed 23 children from harm and arrested 58 people on 423 charges as part of the international operation targeting the production and distribution of online child exploitation material.

The 58 Queensland arrests relating to child sex abuse offences were among those charged worldwide in Operation Molto, an operation led by New Zealand authorities and co-ordinated by AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.

Since the commencement of Operation Molto in 2019, Argos investigators in partnership with district police across the state have identified and investigated Queensland user accounts linked to a cloud storage platform where the vile material was allegedly found.

As a result of investigations, Queensland Police executed 71 search warrants across Queensland, from the Gold Coast to Cairns, from Toowoomba to Mount Isa.

Also charged as part of the operation was a 30-year-old man from the Somerset Region charged with 50 offences following the execution of a search warrant on August 13, 202. It is alleged the man was sexually exploiting two children under 10 over a period of time and using an online platform to access and transmit child exploitation material.

The man has been charged with multiple counts of rape and indecent treatment of a child, using a carriage service to access and transmit child abuse material and weapon offences. He is remanded in custody and expected to appear at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on March 21.