Fifteen people have been charged across NSW and South Australia in a major child protection blitz, including one man who allegedly paid money for overseas online live child sexual abuse on three occasions.
In NSW, eight men and one woman were charged with more than 30 online child sex abuse offences following the two-week operation.
In one horrific incident, police allege a 62-year-old Wyongah man on the state’s Central Coast had sexual intercourse with a child outside of Australia.
He has also been charged with causing child abuse material to be transmitted to self using a carriage service and one count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material.
Police allege he paid a child trafficker in the Philippines for live-streamed child sexual abuse, allegedly exchanging nearly 200 messages.
This allegedly include three video calls, totalling to 56 minutes of live-streamed material.
He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail if convicted.
Camera IconIn NSW police hit eight men and one woman with more than 30 child sexual abuse charges. Supplied Credit: NewsWire
AFP Commander Brett James said anyone who sought to exploit or contributed to the “wider exploitation of children around the world by creating a demand for this abuse material” would be targeted by police.
“Perpetrators are indifferent to the harm they cause victims and are only motivated by their abhorrent desires,” Commander James said, with the investigation marking the end of National Child Protection Week.
“Our message to online offenders has not changed – if you commit these crimes, you will be found, arrested and prosecuted.”
The AFP’s Operation Titan noted a dramatic increase in reports of child exploitation, which ballooned by 41 per cent to 82,700 reports to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) year-on-year in 2024-25.
It also noted an increase in reports of child exploitation.
In South Australia, police made six arrests in six days through the South Australian Joint Anti Child Exploitation (JACET) team, with one case allegedly involving the sexual exploitation of a three-year-old.
Camera Icon15 people have been charged across NSW and South Australia in a major child protection blitz, including one man who allegedly paid for online live child sexual abuse on three occasions. Credit: NewsWire
This included a 34-year-old Gawler East man who was charged with one count of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child and three counts of online child abuse offences.
The man has been remanded in custody and will reappear in court on January 13.
Another 34-year-old Adelaide man was hit with four counts of online child sexual abuse offences, which allegedly including the possession and sharing of child abuse materials, he has been remanded in custody and will appear in court on December 15.
AFP Detective Sergeant Jarrod Cook said authorities were increasingly concerned about child safety due to the increase in young people accessing the internet.
He said more that 370 child victims, some just toddlers, had been identified and removed from further harm in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Southeast Asia since the SA JACET was formed in 2015.
“We issue this warning to any person who would seek to prey on children: The SA JACET team will use the full force of the law to find, expose and prosecute you – no matter when or where the abuse occurred. There is nowhere for you to hide,” he said.
“The AFP and its law enforcement partners will never stop fighting to bring online predators to justice and protect children from these horrific crimes.”
Camera IconOne of the laptops seized by NSW Police during investigations. Supplied/ AFP Credit: NewsWire
South Australia Police Chief Inspector George Fenwick urged parents to have conversations about the signs of predatory behaviour from online actors, including people on gaming platforms, where he was “predators often lurk”.
“Talk to them about what unsafe or inappropriate behaviour might look and feel like at home, in the community, online or at school – and make plans about what to do if they feel unsafe. Understand what children are doing online,” he said.
“Be aware of the manner in which offenders initially engage with children. Inappropriate engagement with children and grooming behaviour can be initiated through online gaming platforms.
“Offenders can pose as someone they are not on these platforms, where they make contact with children before encouraging them to move to another platform for private interactions.”
