A Whittlesea man has been sentenced to three years and 10 months imprisonment for child abuse offences.
The man, 58, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Friday, April, 19, after pleading guilty to 27 child abuse-related offences.
Police had identified that the man was in possession of two internet-enabled electronic devices that he did not declare under his bail conditions after pleading not guilty to five child abuse related offences in September, 2022.
The Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation team (VIC-JACET), comprising of Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police members, executed a search warrant at the man’s Whittlesea home on March, 29, 2023, where the electronic devices were located and seized.
The devices contained child abuse material and thousands of sexually explicit messages between the man and multiple unidentified children between November 4, 2022 and March 29, 2023.
In these online messages, police identified that the man was conversing with multiple children overseas with intent to engage in sexual abuse activity.
The man was subsequently arrested and charged.
On February, 8, 2024, he pleaded guilty to a number of offences including 13 counts of grooming a person to make it easier to engage in sexual activity with a child outside Australia and four counts of procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia.
He was sentenced to three years and 10 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and eight months.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Jarrod Ragg said the sentencing outcome demonstrated the persistent work of the Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team and its commitment to prosecuting criminals responsible for harming children.
“Our officers work tirelessly with partners to identify and prosecute anyone who seeks to sexually abuse and harm children, no matter where they are in the world,” Detective Acting Superintendent Ragg said.
“We all have the same dedication to protecting children who do not have the means or mechanism to defend themselves.
“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.”
