A Tasmanian man accused of uploading and sharing child abuse material depicting toddlers and infants across multiple online platforms has been charged by the Australian Federal Police.
Officers arrested the 23-year-old at his home in Berriedale on Wednesday after investigating several reports received from the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Police linked the man to the alleged offending and executed a search warrant at the northern suburbs property, where they seized two laptops for examination.
Subsequent forensic analysis of the devices allegedly identified hundreds of videos and images of serious online child abuse material, some of which had been shared using Snapchat, Discord, Dropbox, Telegram and Google Drive.
AFP Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle said the man is facing two counts of possessing child abuse material obtained using a carriage service, an offence that carries up to 15 years imprisonment.
“This arrest should serve as a warning that the AFP, together with our Commonwealth and state law enforcement partners, are dedicated to fighting child sexual abuse and bringing those who commit these abhorrent offences before the court,” he said.
“Our investigators are relentless in their pursuit of anyone sharing or accessing child abuse material and protecting our community’s most vulnerable – our children.”
The man will appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court later today.
