A man convicted over sharing child abuse material online has been sentenced in Newcastle’s District Court.
Back in November 2020, the Australian Federal Police raided a home in Charlestown after a tip off from Homeland Security Investigations in the US which had detected a user they believed to be based in Australia transmitting the material over the messenger app Kik.
The AFP arrested and charged a 23 year old man who later pleaded guilty in court to four offences:
1.Use a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
2.Use a carriage service to possess or control child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
3.Produce child abuse material for use through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.23(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
4.Use carriage service to transmit child abuse material on three or more separate occasions involving two or more people, contrary to section 474.24A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
On Friday, February 4, the judge took into account time served and parole before handing down a sentence of 1 year and 8 months imprisonment.
The Charlestown man will be released on January 30, 2023.