Man accused of ‘grooming’

Defendant to take all 75 charges up to the higher court

A 25-YEAR-OLD Toowoomba man facing multiple charges of grooming under age children and making child exploitation material is expected to take his matters directly up to the higher court.

The accused man, who, due to the nature of some of the charges, cannot be named until the matters are put before the higher court, is facing up to a total 75 charges.

They include 16 counts of using the internet to procure persons under the age of 16 to engage in, or submit to, sexual activity; 13 of using a carriage service to groom a person under 16; 10 of involving children in making exploitation material; seven of using the internet to transmit, make available, publish or distribute child pornography material; 21 of indecent treatment of a child (indecent film); five of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under 16; two of indecent treatment of a child under 16 (expose); and accessing child pornography material.

The Chronicle understands the man was arrested and charged earlier this year following a Taskforce Argos investigation.

The 25-year-old was not in Toowoomba Magistrates Court when his matters were mentioned but was represented by MacDonald Law solicitor John Davis.

Mr Davis asked the court to excuse his client’s appearance and asked for an adjournment of the case.

It was expected that his client’s matter would either go by way of registry committal or by full hand-up committal to the District Court in the near future, Mr Davis told the court.

Acting Magistrate Roger Stark remanded the accused on bail and adjourned the case for committal mention back in the same court on November 15.