Waratah man Desmond Jethro Higgins arrested by Australian Border Force officials over alleged child-like sex doll and abuse material

An Australian Border Force investigation into the alleged attempt to import a child-like sex doll has led authorities to seize child abuse material during a dawn raid in suburban Newcastle.

Australian Border Force officers and NSW police arrest Desmond Jethro Higgins at Waratah after an investigation into the alleged attempted important of a child sex doll. Picture: ABF.

An Australian Border Force investigation into the alleged attempted importation of a child-like sex doll has led authorities to allegedly seize child abuse material during a dramatic dawn raid in suburban Newcastle.

Desmond Jethro Higgins, 42, was led away by police and ABF officials following the joint-agency investigation being launched when the sex doll was allegedly found in a consignment received at the Sydney container examination facility in August.

ABF officers initially raided a Waratah home on September 3 and “seized a number of items for further forensic examination”.

Following further investigations by both the ABF and Newcastle City police, authorities again raided the home about 5am on Friday and arrested Higgins.

He was taken to Newcastle police station, where ABF investigators charged him with the importation of child-like sex doll, classified as a tier 2 good under the Customs Act (1901) which attracts a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine up to $782,500.

Desmond Jethro Higgins being led away by authorities after the dawn raid at Waratah on Friday. Picture: ABF.

Newcastle City police also charged Higgins with two counts of possessing child abuse material.

He faced Newcastle Local Court on Friday where he was not required to enter a plea and successfully applied for bail.

Magistrate John Chicken granted the release application on a number of conditions, including that Higgins report daily to police and not leave his home unless in the company of at least one of two specific people.

Mr Chicken also stipulated Higgins not be in the company of anyone under 18 while on his own, one acceptable person agree to deposit a $5000 surety and an acceptable person also agree to forfeit $15,000 if Higgins breaches his bail or fails to turn up at court.

Higgins will reappear on November 20.

ABF Acting Superintendent Mark Paixao said in a statement that protecting the most vulnerable members of our community from those who “would seek to exploit them” would remain a top priority for the ABF.

“We work closely with our law enforcement partners to target [alleged] offenders of these horrific crimes and perform our critical work at the border,“ acting Supt Paixao said.

“We will continue to make the Australian border a hostile place for those seeking to bring in illegal items – be it drugs, firearms or abhorrent child abuse material.”

Newcastle Police District commander, Supt Kylie Endemi, said the arrest showed how an effective joint approach to policing worked.

“The NSW Police Force and Australian Border Force have once again demonstrated that through sharing intelligence and resources, we can take swift action to keep our community safe,” Supt Endemi said.