Sunshine Coast woman charged with distributing child exploitation material, indecent treatment
Additional charges have been levelled at a Sunshine Coast mother accused of sending indecent photos of her child to men interstate with one of them notifying police.
Police & Courts
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A Sunshine Coast mother has been charged with more offences after she was arrested for allegedly sending indecent pictures of her young daughter to men interstate.
The woman in her 20s, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the alleged victim, faced the fresh charges on Thursday after her initial arrest by the Maroochydore Child Protection Unit last week.
This was following an investigation into pictures she allegedly sent to men in Victoria on or about June 20.
Bail objection documents before Maroochydore Magistrates Court on June 25 allege the Sunshine Coast woman acted alone when she indecently treated her child by taking their photo twice and distributing the pictures.
Police allege the woman was not requested or encouraged by witnesses to send the indecent pictures.
“The only saving grace in the circumstances of this offending is that the victim child appears to be asleep when the images were taken,” police allege in court documents.
“We can only hope that the child was not aware and will have no memory of these offences being committed against (them).”
Court documents state police inquiries led detectives to the Sunshine Coast woman through her mobile phone number which she confirmed she was the sole user of.
Bail documents allege when the woman was questioned, she admitted to taking and transmitting the offending images.
She was arrested and charged with two counts of indecent treatment of a child and two of distributing child exploitation material.
During her bail application last week, police prosecutor Stu Lydford said police allege the woman in her 20s was “sexting” with other men, one from Victoria, when she sent the child exploitation material of her daughter.
Sergeant Lydford said that man provided that information to police.
Defence lawyer Cherisse Breese said the woman could abide by strict conditions on bail, and would take steps to look after her mental health.
Ms Breese said she was instructed the woman had recently stopped taking her medication for her mental health issues.
Acting magistrate Michael Bice granted the woman bail due to her having no similar criminal history and no breaches of bail on her record.
Her matters were adjourned to August 16.
The woman appeared once again in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with additional offences of distributing child exploitation material and indecent treatment of a child.
She was this time represented by duty lawyer Breanna Bowtell who was instructed to seek a brief of evidence and asked for the woman’s charges to meet up with her other matters on August 16.
Ms Bowtell confirmed to acting magistrate Anna Smith the charges were the “same nature”.
Ms Smith put the woman’s previous bail conditions onto her new charges and adjourned her new matters to meet up with her previous four on August 16.
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