David Ross Phillips in court for alleged child abuse material, intimate images stash
Court documents have revealed inside details into the Taskforce Argos arrest of a Sunshine Coast man allegedly caught with a stash of child abuse material. Warning: Graphic
Police & Courts
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A Beerwah man arrested by Taskforce Argos detectives was allegedly using intimate images to pose as a woman online and meet with child abusers while hiding a secret stash of abuse material himself.
David Ross Phillips, 62, faces nine charges including five of possessing child abuse material, one of grooming of a parent to procure a child for a sexual act, using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material, distributing intimate images and using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material to self.
He has not entered a plea for any of the charges.
Court documents allege Mr Phillips had an alias known as Stacy, a 49-year-old woman living near Townsville, on an encrypted online chat platform.
The documents state on February 9 Mr Phillips allegedly met a law enforcement participant (LEP) on the platform.
On July 16 detectives from Taskforce Argos searched Mr Phillips’ Beerwah home, the documents state, where several devices including an iPhone 11, an iPad, a USB, a laptop, two hard drives, an SD card as well as 20 photos of naked children were seized.
On these devices police allegedly found a stash of child abuse material, the documents state.
Photos of a woman Mr Phillips knew, which he allegedly used to pose as Stacy online, were also found.
The documents alleged Mr Phillips had emailed a video of a young boy being sexually abused and tortured by an adult woman.
The documents state Mr Phillips denied knowledge of the alleged offending and said the thought of doing such things and not remembering them “scared” him.
The documents state he allegedly told police he’d “had trouble” in the past in relation to child abuse material but had not done this for about a decade.
The documents alleged he said he had relapsed after his marriage ended in November 2022 and began looking for certain material again, but denied intentionally looking at child abuse material.
Police allege he claimed to not be sexually aroused by children.
Police alleged in court documents Mr Phillips was unable to control his sexual desires and had a pattern of similar offending over more than a decade.
Documents state he was released on bail in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on July 17.
He was due to return to the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on September 15.
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