Darwin man to face court accused of sharing child abuse material online

A 56-year-old Darwin man will face court today in relation to allegations he accessed and shared child abuse material online

A 56-year-old Darwin man will face court today in relation to allegations he accessed and shared child abuse material online

A DARWIN man has faced court in relation to allegations he accessed and shared child abuse material online.

The 56-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Darwin Local Court for the first time on Monday morning after being arrested on Friday.

The Australian Federal Police’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation triage unit launched an investigation after a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Police allege the Darwin man was transmitting child abuse material via social media.

The matter was referred to the NT Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team and on Friday June 12 police executed search warrants and seized mobile telephones, an external hard disk drive and laptop computer from the man.

Police will allege a preliminary search of the devices found online communications relating to child abuse material.

The man has been charged with five offences, which are one count of possession of child abuse material and four counts of transmitting child abuse material.

A detailed digital forensic examination is ongoing.

Australian Federal Police Child Protection Operations detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said the demand for child abuse material online drove the exploitation and abuse of real children.

“Alarmingly the appetite for child exploitation material is increasing and somewhere in the world innocent young children are harmed to satisfy those depraved criminal demands,” detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said.

“We want to assure that public that the COVID pandemic lockdowns have not stopped our relentless pursuit of anyone involved in the abuse of children, whether online or elsewhere.”

NT Police Detective Sergeant Paul Lawson said the NT Police and the AFP would continue to target those who committed these crimes and believed they could hide behind the anonymity of the internet.

“We will continue to work in partnership to keep all our children safe,” he said.

The 56-year-old was remanded in custody and will return to court in August.