Alec Stephen West accused of creating international child exploitation game

A Geelong man accused of being the mastermind of an online child exploitation game with an international fan base has fronted court.

Alec West leaving the Geelong Magistrates' Court. Picture: Geelong Advertiser

A Geelong man alleged to have created an online child exploitation game that was used by international pedophiles has appeared in court.

Alec Stephen West, 31, appeared in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for a committal mention.

He is charged with Commonwealth offences of controlling, producing and possessing child abuse material, as well as dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Mr West’s lawyer, Timothy Hancock, told the court he had reached out to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to indicate that Mr West sought to resolve the matter.

“It is a significantly dense brief spanning over a large period of time, with a number of extremely complex and serious charges,” Mr Hancock said.

“Hopefully it shouldn’t be too much further,” he said.

Police prosecutor Zoe Hough told the court police expected to have a plea offer to Mr Hancock by the end of the week.

Australian Federal Police arrested Mr West on August 2 last year following an investigation by the Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team.

A joint task force consisting of members from Victoria Police and the AFP removed all property from Mr West’s home that was suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

This included two vehicles, high-end televisions and audiovisual equipment, furniture and appliances which were seized during the warrants.

According to the AFP, the subscription based game was entirely made up of animated images, which is an offence in Australia.

In a statement in August of last year, Commander Paul O’Halloran described the arrest as a “landmark investigation”.

“While the material on the platform does not involve live children, it has been created to mimic that and this is clearly of great concern to us,” he said.

The matter will return to court on April 9 for a further committal mention.

Originally published as Alec Stephen West accused of creating international child exploitation game