Call for more teacher checks

The State Government has been urged to bring in tougher checks after a Sunshine Coast teacher was charged with child pornography offences.

The State Government has been urged to bring in tougher checks after a Sunshine Coast teacher was charged with child pornography offences.

Shadow Minister for Child Safety and Disability Services Jann Stuckey MP called on the government to implement child safety checks for teachers through the Blue card system, not leave it to the Board of Education.

“Reports today of a Maroochydore teacher and an unemployed pre-school teacher being charged with possession of child pornography strengthens the case for a review of teacher registration Board checks.

“I raised these concerns during debate on the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Bill 2007 in Parliament this week and now I challenge the Government to act.

“Urgent investigation must be undertaken to reveal how an engineer from Yatala also charged was awarded a blue card.

“Queensland Police are to be commended for their work in not only uncovering this network of despicable predators but also for their mettle in handling such sickening cases of abuse.

“As this is National Child Protection Week I urge anyone who has any information about people actively engaging in child pornography or viewing images of children being abused to immediately report this to police.

“The only way we can protect our children from being victims and suffering lifelong physical and emotional trauma at the hands of these paedophiles is to speak out and let the justice system deal with them.

“As a former paediatric nurse I have experienced having to care for children who have been damaged irreparably as a result of physical harm and rape by adults who care about nothing else but their own sexual gratification.

“I wholeheartedly support providing the police with more resources to stamp out this abhorrent criminal activity,'' Ms Stuckey said.

Sunshine Coast teacher among 13 men arrested in huge sting

A Maroochydore teacher was among 13 men caught in one of the state's biggest investigations into child pornography.

The 29-year-old was charged with both possessing and making child pornography and faced Maroochydore Magistrates Court in June.

He was one of the men targeted during Operation Stingray which began in May and involved investigators from across the entire south-east working in conjunction with the state crime operations command Taskforce Argos.

Police acted on tips received from similar investigations in the United States and Europe, as well as from information gathered during their own investigations.

Investigations into a 50-year-old Caloundra man and a 62-year-old Golden Beach pensioner are still being carried out.

More than 800,000 sickening images and movies featuring child exploitation were seized during the operation as well as 12 computers, two laptops, 85 CDs, 27 floppy discs, 25 hard drives, 23 memory sticks and a modem.

Drugs were also found in one of the raided homes.

A 68-year-old church minister from the Gold Coast Hinterland was among those charged.

He faced the Southport Magistrates Court in July on possessing, accessing and making child exploitation material.

One month later and an unemployed pre-school teacher from Cleveland was facing court for using a phone line to access child porn.

Other men charged worked as builders, supervisors, engineers and salesmen, including one man who held a Blue Card.

The youngest was 19-years-old and the eldest 68-years-old.

One of the detectives in charge of the operation, Acting Superintendent Peter Crawford said investigations into the making, distribution, viewing and possession of child exploitation material would continue to be a priority.

He refused to accept that that owning or distributing child porn was a victimless crime.

“People who use the internet to collect and distribute these images extend the degradation of children and add a profit motive to their exploitation,” he said.

“Task Force Argos, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, will continue to place strong emphasis on detecting and prosecuting offenders who prey on the vulnerability of children by accessing the internet to satisfy their own sick obsessions.”

Originally published as Call for more teacher checks