Five Qld men arrested in major child exploitation sting triggered by FBI agent murders in US

Five Queensland men have been arrested as part of a major international police sting sparked by the murder of two FBI agents.

Four Queensland children have been rescued from harm and five men have been arrested in a major international police sting after the murder of two FBI agents in the United States.

The accused offenders, all men aged between 32 and 81 years, are among 19 Australians charged as part of Australian Federal Police-coordinated Operation Bakis which began last year investigating a “sophisticated” online child abuse network on the dark web.

Thirteen Australian children have been rescued, including four in Queensland, after police dismantled the network of offenders who were mostly employed in highly skilled tech jobs.

Police in the United States had been investigating a wider network when FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were shot dead when they executed a search warrant related to the child abuse network in 2021.

After their murders, the FBI commenced an international investigation targeting people on the platform, tipping off AFP to Australian members in 2022.

Australian Federal Police Commander Helen Schneider said police will allege some of those arrested had been committing offences for 10 years.

“Some of those (networks) had dark web capability and encryption, so it was those aspects that made this group particularly challenging to target,” Commander Schneider said.

Police will allege members of the group used software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites within the network.

Network members were able to search for and distribute images and videos of child abuse material, and allegedly used encryption and other methods to avoid law enforcement detection.

Five Queensland men have been arrested and four children removed from harm in a major international police sting sparked after the murder of two FBI agents in the United States. Picture: Australian Federal Police

It will be alleged some of the children removed had been directly abused, and others were removed as a child safety precaution.

Police will allege some of those children were known to the men arrested.

“We see it as a significant outcome. And I think that this outcome should definitely serve as a warning to those who are preying on our most vulnerable, that we are looking for you, we will find you and we will arrest you,” Commander Schneider said.

Among the 19 arrested was a public servant in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) who was sentenced to almost 15 years jail at court earlier this year.

The 36-year-old had images of 800 young victims aged between two months and 14 years. He also had a paedophile handbook with advice on how to speak to law enforcement.

Police reviewed his electronic devices and found almost 16,000 files which included offending against his young daughter, and one file where his three-year-old son was watching, the court was told.

In addition to four children rescued in Queensland, two were removed in NSW, two in South Australia and five in the ACT.

Police will allege members of the group used software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites. Picture: Australian Federal Police

The Queensland men arrested include a 79-year-old who will face Toowoomba Magistrates Court on August 24, and 80-year-old who will face trial in Southport, a 44-year-old who will face court at Maroochydore on August 25, a 32-year-old who will face Ipswich Magistrates Court on August 25, and a 41-year-old man who will face Townsville Magistrates Court on September 26.

FBI Legal Attache Nitiana Mann said their investigation uncovered a significant amount of information about offending all over the world.

Ms Mann said the FBI had sent tips about offenders and at-risk children to 211 countries, and uncovered 350 domestic leads in the United States.

She said this was a significant amount of information on the “higher end” of the scale.

“As we continue to build bridges through collaboration and teamwork, we can ensure the good guys win and the bad guys lose,” Ms Mann said.

Special Agent Schwartzenberger was just 43 when she was killed on duty in 2021. Special Agent Alfin was 36.

Both investigated child exploitation and devoted their professional lives to trying to save abused children.

Their killer, David Lee Huber, 55, also died at the scene. He was being searched in relation to the child exploitation network.

The deaths marked one of the worst police shootings in history for the FBI in South Florida.

Originally published as Five Qld men arrested in major child exploitation sting triggered by FBI agent murders in US