Argos police arrest six men on 100 charges in lead up to Child Protection Week
Six men have been charged with more than 100 child sex offences across Queensland in the past week, joining more than 1500 people busted by police in the past year.
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Six men have been charged with more than 100 child sex offences across Queensland in the past week, including a man who allegedly filmed girls in public toilets and was the admin of a hidden child exploitation website.
The men, aged between 22 and 46 years old, lived as far south as Fortitude Valley, and as far north as Cairns, and have all been charged with multiple offences.
The latest arrests were as a result of extensive investigations by Argos in the lead up to Child Protection Week, which started on Monday.
In the last financial year, police charged 1587 people with 8005 child sex offences.
Child Abuse and Sexual Crime Group Detective Acting Superintendent Glen Donaldson said everyone in the community plays an important role in caring for children.
“Every day our investigators, including officers dedicated to covert and protracted investigations and victim identification analysts, are working with law enforcement nationally and internationally to prevent, disrupt and investigate child sexual abuse,” Detective Acting Superintendent Donaldson said.
One of the arrests included a Fortitude Valley man who police will allege was filming and taking photos of children in public toilets.
On September 1, the 46-year-old was arrested and charged with 20 child sex offences including the possession and making of child exploitation material as well as the use of a carriage service to access and distribute child abuse material on various social media platforms.
It will be alleged the man was involved in the administration of a hidden network on a child exploitation material website and was further charged with grooming offences of a child under the age of 16.
Investigators will further allege that the man was filming and taking images of children in public toilets.
He appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 1 and was remanded in custody until September 18.
On August 25, a 44-year-old Beerwah man was taken in to custody and charged with 62 child sex offences including the possession and making of child exploitation material, as well as the use of a carriage service to access and distribute child abuse material on various social media platforms.
He is due to appear at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on October 20.
On August 28, police charged a 42-year-old Upper Kedron man with the possession of child exploitation material using an online platform and the use of a carriage service to access child abuse material, after executing a search warrant on August 28.
He is due to reappear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 11.
On August 29, a 39-year-old Cairns man was taken in to police custody and charged with three child sex offences after investigations identified the man allegedly used an online platform to possess child exploitation material and using a carriage service to make child abuse material available.
He is due to appear at Cairns Magistrates Court on September 18.
On August 30, a 22-year-old Albion man was charged with 14 child sex offences including the possession and making of child exploitation material as well as grooming a child under 16 years of age on a social media platform and exposing them to indecent matter. He appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 31 where he was remanded in custody.
He is due to reappear on October 16.
On August 30, police also charged a 26-year-old Carina man with five child sex offences including the use of the internet to procure a child under 16. It will be alleged the man was attempting to meet a 14-year-old for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
He was further charged with the possession and making of child exploitation material. He appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 31 where he was remanded in custody to reappear on October 16.
Detective Acting Superintendent Glen Donaldson said these arrests are a reminder to all parents and caregivers about the “dangers that our children face online” and the “ever-present threat of online predators”.
“There is no stereotypical child sex offender, they come from every section of the community, every gender, every sexual orientation, every religion,” he said.
Speaking about a hidden network uncovered on a child material website, Detective Acting Superintendent Donaldson said it was “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
“There is no evidence of contact offending against those children, those children were unaware … but that doesn’t lessen the significance,” he said.
Detective Acting Superintendent Donaldson confirmed that none of the six men charged held a blue card but that the offences targeted children from “toddlers and infants to teenagers”.
“It seems to be socially acceptable for children to accept a friend request from someone they don’t know,” he said.
Asked whether schools are doing enough to educate children about online safety, Detective Acting Superintendent Donaldson said: “I think child protection is a whole of community response”.
Originally published as Argos police arrest six men on 100 charges in lead up to Child Protection Week
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