A Broadmeadows man has been jailed for six and a half years for the sexual abuse of a child.
The 32-year-old was sentenced in the County Court on Wednesday, November 22 after pleading guilty to four charges relating to the sexual abuse of a child and producing and possessing child abuse material.
The Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (VIC-JACET), comprising AFP and Victoria Police, began an investigation in 2022 when police identified the man as an online user uploading child abuse material.
Officers executed a search warrant on September 13, 2022 at the man’s residence, where they seized a number of electronic devices, including the man’s phone and a USB, which contained child abuse material.
An examination of the devices revealed the man had produced the child abuse material involving a young female victim. The man was subsequently arrested and charged.
On 18 October 2023 he plead guilty to possessing child abuse material, sexual assault of a child under 16, and sexual penetration of a child under the age of 12 years.
Senior constable Catherine Kelly said the AFP is committed to identifying, targeting and prosecuting all offenders who abuse and exploit children.
“The AFP, along with our law enforcement partners, is dedicated to fighting child sexual abuse and bringing those who commit these offences before the court,” she said.
“This sentencing outcome should serve as yet another serious warning that law enforcement has zero tolerance for child exploitation and child sexual abuse in any form.
“VIC-JACET members regularly have to deal with the most abhorrent aspects of child sexual abuse and I’d like to thank them in their relentless pursuit to protect children and prosecute those who cause them harm.”
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) or in urgent cases, call 000.
Gerald Lynch
