Queensland man jailed over child abuse material offences

A Queensland man has been sentenced to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment for accessing, possessing and transmitting child abuse material online

A Logan man who continued to share and upload child abuse material while on bail has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The man, 32, was sentenced to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment in the Beenleigh District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to 12 offences including possessing child abuse material, accessing child abuse material, making child exploitation material, possessing child exploitation material and breaching bail.

He will serve a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.

The Australian Federal Police launched an investigation in July 2021 after a report from the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which linked the man to material being shared on a social media platform.

Police executed a search warrant at his home in February 2023 and uncovered child abuse material on his devices. He was charged the following month and granted bail.

While on bail, the man was linked to further offending after the AFP received two separate reports, one in January 2024 — from Queensland police about child abuse material shared on an encrypted messaging app, and another from NCMEC involving uploads through a search engine.

The AFP’s Northern Command Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team linked the man to both reports and searched his Browns Plains home on April 24, 2024, where they found more child abuse material, including images of a young child, on his phone.

Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the AFP and its partners remained committed to protecting children and preventing their abuse.

“Anyone who views, possesses or shares this material is committing a horrific crime and we will identify and prosecute offenders,’’ Det Supt Telfer said.

“We are committed to stopping child abuse and continue to investigate these heinous crimes and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse were urged to contact the ACCCE.

If you know abuse is happening right now, or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000. If you, or someone you know, is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available.