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The AFP has announced that an Australian childcare worker has been charged with 1,623 child abuse offences after the Queensland Police Service found alleged video and images of the man committing the offences on the dark net.
The material was first found on the dark net in 2014 when the QPS first shared it on a number of international victim identification databases. A range of agencies, including the Australian Federal Police, worked to discover the location where the material had been recorded, but initially had little luck.
However, in August 2022, the AFP was able to identify objects in the background of the alleged material, tracing them to a Brisbane childcare centre. After making inquiries at the centre, the AFP served a search warrant for the alleged perpetrator and made an arrest in Brisbane. The man was charged with “making and distributing child abuse material that was allegedly posted on the dark web”.
Within 48 hours, the AFP sought and executed two more warrants, which included the alleged perpetrator’s home on the Gold Coast. The AFP also seized a number of devices storing alleged child abuse material.
In September of the same year, the AFP, leading a task force composed of the QPS and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, began attempting to review more than 4,000 seized images and videos.
Ninety-one children were identified in the alleged material, and the alleged offences took place in 10 Brisbane childcare centres between 2007 and 2013, and 2018 and 2022. Alleged offences also took place at a Sydney childcare centre between 2014 and 2017, and a further overseas location between 2013 and 2014.
The AFP said that all the man’s alleged offences seem to have been recorded on either smartphones or cameras. Eighty-seven Australian children – some of whom are now over 18 – have been identified.
The charges include 604 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, and 613 counts of making child exploitation material. The man has also been charged with 136 counts of rape.
The NSW Police Force has also laid a tranche of charges and has issued a first instance warrant for the perpetrator’s extradition in the future. The man has been in custody in Queensland since 2022.
The parents of the children have been notified.
Justine Gough, AFP Northern Assistant Commissioner, said the AFP and support services have been working with affected families throughout the continuing investigation.
“The AFP is highly confident that all the Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified,” Assistant Commissioner Gough said in a statement.
“The AFP and our partners never gave up trying to identify the alleged offender and the children in the alleged abuse material.
“Given there were so many alleged images and videos of children recorded over 15 years on the alleged offender’s devices, the process of identification took time, skill and determination.
“While I am extremely proud of law enforcements’ persistence and their unwavering dedication to identify this alleged offender, and stop further abuse, this is chilling news.”
If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, there are support services available at www.accce.gov.au/support.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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