Mackay man charged with child grooming, making and possessing child abuse material
A Qld tradie turned alleged child groomer is banned from accessing any social media or direct messaging application, and being with kids unsupervised.
Police & Courts
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A Mackay tradie is banned from accessing any social media or messaging application under his strict bail conditions after he was charged with multiple counts of alleged child grooming spanning more than 12 months.
The 47 year old is also charged with multiple counts of making and possessing child abuse material.
It is alleged all the offending occurred at Hampden.
Police allege the first instance of child grooming occurred in August 2022, with two more allegedly occurring between July and August 2023 and over about a week in October 2023.
For these allegations he is charged with three counts of grooming child under 16 years or parent or carer of child under 16 years – expose to indecent matter.
The man, whose occupation is listed as a boiler maker, is further charged with three counts of making child exploitation material between January and February 2023 and in October 2024, as well as two counts of possessing child exploitation material in October 2024.
He was arrested and charged, first appearing in Mackay Magistrates Court in November 2024.
The man is on bail with his conditions including no unsupervised contact with any person under the page of 18 and he must not use any social media or direct messaging application on any device.
Further, he must also provide any device capable of connecting to social media or allow direct messaging to police if requested.
The matter was briefly mentioned on Tuesday when Legal Aid Queensland solicitor Rosie Varley indicated the case might take a certain course.
Because of the type of charges, this case must be finalised in the district court.
Ms Varley said her client’s Legal Aid Funding had been approved and she requested a brief adjournment “to finalise committal instructions” with her client.
“I anticipate matters will take a certain course but I do need to get those instructions formally and in writing,” Ms Varley said.
The case was adjourned to a later date for committal mention.
*This publication has chosen not to name the man at this stage.
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Originally published as Mackay man charged with child grooming, making and possessing child abuse material
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