This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Western Australia Police Force
A 34-year-old Byford man has been sentenced to two years and ten months in jail by the District Court of Western Australia for possessing thousands of images and videos of young boys and girls being sexually abused or tortured.
The man had pleaded guilty on 3 April 2020 to five offences for accessing and possessing child abuse material, after a Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) investigation sparked by an alert from Canadian authorities.
The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Canadian Child Exploitation Coordination Centre had provided reports about Australian users who were allegedly trading child abuse material via online platforms.
The WA JACET identified the Byford man as a person who was allegedly uploading abhorrent content via multiple accounts and executed a search warrant at his home in September 2019.
He was initially charged with one offence after investigators found child abuse material on his mobile phone.
An examination of the seized phone and a notebook which contained usernames and passwords for social media and email accounts, resulted in another charge.
In January 2020, WA Police officers seized a mobile phone and computer from the man after questioning him over an unrelated matter.
After allegedly finding child abuse material on the devices, the man was charged in February 2020 with two offences.
Police then seized his new mobile phone for examination and after allegedly finding child abuse material on that device, he was charged with a fifth offence.
Images and videos found on the man’s electronic devices since September 2019 include babies and toddlers being abused by adult men and women and bestiality offences.
The man will have to serve a minimum of 17 months before being eligible for parole. With time served he will be eligible for parole in July 2021.
WA JACET comprises AFP and WA Police Force officers who are working tirelessly to protect children and identify and prosecute anyone who harms or exploits them.
