A man will appear in court next month charged with four offences over the alleged grooming of a teenage girl in the state’s Southern Highlands.
On Monday 19 August 2019, detectives from The Hume Police District and Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) commenced an investigation following reports a man had been allegedly engaging in sexually-explicit conversations with a 14-year-old girl on social media.
Following investigations, police arrested a 28-year-old man in his vehicle at a carpark on Kirkham Street, Moss Vale about 6.30pm yesterday (Tuesday 20 August 2019).
During the search of the man’s vehicle, investigators seized a mobile phone.
The Mittagong man was taken to Southern Highlands Police Station and charged with procure child for unlawful sexual activity (x2), stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm, and use carriage service to procure under 16 years of age for sexual activity.
He was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Moss Vale Local Court on Tuesday 3 September 2019.
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by the CEIU into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Regular covert online investigations are conducted by the CEIU; and police in NSW work closely with their law-enforcement colleagues interstate and overseas.
Anyone with information about internet predators should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
