Former cop Alan Hawley pleads guilty to possession of 19,856 child abuse material files

An ex-cop engaged in child abuse material while on shift and referred to himself as a “proud pedo” in vile online chat group.

Alan Hawley pleaded guilty to child abuse possession offences at the County Court. Picture: Generic Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

A disgraced ex-cop who had nearly 20,000 child abuse files on various devices — including in one stored at work — engaged in a vile group chat where “horrific” content was shared.

Former Sunshine Victoria Police officer member Alan Hawley, 50, pleaded guilty at the County Court on Monday to seven child abuse related charges after an investigation uncovering 19,856 files — including 168 hours of footage — across several phones and USBs.

Court documents revealed the offending occurred between May 2021 and January 2023.

Dressed in a navy blazer and white shirt, Hawley — who was supported in court by his sister — showed little emotion during the two-hour plea hearing.

Hawley, a leading senior constable, served 11 years in the force and worked as a crime scene officer when he was arrested in January 2023.

On Monday the court heard Hawley accessed and transmitted material on encrypted communications app Wickr, going by the username “frbnfrtslvr” which meant “forbidden fruits lover”.

Police found 11,000 child abuse files on a Samsung phone stored in Hawley’s locker at the Sunshine police station.

In one conversation Hawley said he was a “proud pedo and love little girls from 4 up to 12”.

Court documents also revealed Hawley was one of 30 members in a group chat called “fun” on the app — where many of the members “proudly referred to themselves as ‘pedos’.”

All messages in the vile chat group expired and deleted after six days.

In the six days before his arrest police uncovered that Hawley sent 57 files and “text-based messages” which depicted child abuse material.

One of the mobile phones seized was stored in his police locker at the Sunshine police station and had about 11,000 files.

According to court documents, his engagement in the Wickr app indicated he engaged in the offending during shifts as a police officer.

During the execution of a search warrant at his Greensborough arrest in January 2023, police asked Hawley if he knew why police had attended his home — to which he replied “child exploitation”.

Judge Frank Gucciardo described the offending as “completely abhorrent”.

“It’s insidious behaviour ... it’s really staggering that adult men can engage in this conduct,” he said.

Defence lawyer Grace Morgan said Hawley had demonstrated a “willingness to accept treatment” and was motivated by his family to do so.

Despite hearing that Hawley had engaged in some psychiatric treatment, His Honour said Hawley’s understanding of “mischief he’s gone and done” was “limited” at this stage.

“What’s missing to an extent is very little of an insightful understanding of what this kind of access to child abuse material is,” he said.

“In fact, it’s a market of the exploitation of small children, real children”.

Hawley was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.