Strathpine man, 36, arrested in child sex crime sting
A covert police sting has caught a 36-year-old man attempting to lure a child to a Brisbane motel room for sex. Watch the video.
Police & Courts
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A child sex offender who tried to trap a “child” at a hotel room has been busted by undercover cops in a covert sting.
Detectives from Argos, the state’s taskforce investigating child sex crime, arrested the 36-year-old Strathpine man when he arrived at a Brisbane fast food business on Tuesday.
Police will allege he attended the business to meet what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.
Instead, he was met by detectives who had been posing as the girl online.
The investigations began on October 7 when the man reached out to the social media profile of a 13-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover Argos officer.
It will be alleged the man groomed the child, sent naked photos of himself and escalated to having the “child” meet him for sex at a local motel.
The 36-year-old man was charged with using the internet to procure a child under 16 years of age with a circumstance of aggravation that the offender went to a place with the intention of meeting the child and grooming a child under 16 years of age.
The man is due to appear at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on November 8.
Child Abuse and Sexual Crime Group Detective Inspector Glen Donaldson said this case highlights the ever-present risk that children can face from online predators.
“Research by the Commonwealth eSafety Commissioner has identified that 1 in 4 children have been approached by a stranger online. The research also shows that over 90 per cent of teens regularly use internet connected devices”, Inspector Donaldson said.
“If parents have children going online then they need to be aware of their online footprint and speak with them about what they can do when they feel unsafe.
“Children and teens must know that nothing is so serious or embarrassing that they can’t approach a trusted adult for support and to report behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable.
“Supervision is the key to prevention, as is ongoing communication with children about how to stay safe online and the dangers of having online ‘friends’ they have never met face-to-face”.
“Every day Argos has undercover officers working in a range of online platforms to detect and apprehend people who seek to exploit children in our community.
“To those that seek to engage in this predatory behaviour, just remember that the next ‘child’ that you message may be a member of Argos”.
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