West Ulverstone man fronts court over allegedly accessing anime child abuse material

A 30-year-old West Ulverstone man allegedly found with anime images that showed adults having sex with young children has faced court.

The Launceston Magistrates Court, on the corner of Charles Street and Cimitiere Street in Launceston. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

A West Ulverstone man has been arrested after allegedly accessing 85,000 pages of anime child abuse material online.

Axl Leslie Fletcher, 30, faced the Launceston Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Mr Fletcher has not yet entered a plea to the charge, which comes with a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.

In a statement, the Tasmanian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (TAS-JACET), comprising of AFP and Tasmania Police members, said they executed a search warrant at Mr Fletcher’s West Ulverstone home on March 25, 2024.

Police seized electronic devices, including a laptop, mobile phone, and USBs allegedly belonging to Mr Fletcher, for forensic analysis.

An examination of the electronic devices allegedly detected multiple files containing child abuse material and about 85,000 online pages of computer-generated animated child abuse material, known as Japanese Hentai.

Mr Fletcher was arrested as a result of the analysis and charged on Monday.

AFP Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle said animated or virtual depictions of children performing explicit sexual acts were defined as child abuse material and prosecutable under Australian legislation.

“Hentai is a style of Japanese pornographic anime, and children depicted in sexually explicit imagery is considered child abuse material under Commonwealth legislation,” Detective Sergeant Hardcastle said.

“These images depict very young children engaging in extremely sadistic acts, and people who view them may also seek out child abuse material depicting real children.

“This arrest should serve as yet another serious warning that law enforcement has zero tolerance for child exploitation and child sexual abuse in any form.”

Magistrate Simon Brown adjourned Mr Fletcher’s case for plea until June 13, at 9.15am.