Babies, children sexually abused
FORTY-SIX children have been rescued, including 16 from one childcare centre, in one of the biggest child sexual abuse cases in Australian law enforcement history.
Police in three states have arrested 14 men, now facing 828 charges related to what investigators have described as “abhorrent” systemic sexual abuse of children, some just babies.
Raids in NSW and Queensland led to a further two men being charged with child abuse offences but seized material suggests more offenders nationally will be uncovered.
“Police will allege Operation Arkstone revealed a network of abuse, where the alleged offenders in the forums encouraged and emboldened each other to engage in acts of depravity and abuse of children,” the AFP’S Christopher Woods said.
Some sexually abused the children, ranging in age from 16 months to 15 years, recording the abuse to share across online platforms. There were 39 victims in NSW, one in Queensland and six in WA.
Among those arrested was a 27-year-old former childcare worker who faces 303 charges related to child intercourse and indecent assault of 16 children, or more than half those attending his childcare centre. He is due to face Port Macquarie Court on January 21. His 22-year-old male partner also faces charges.
Parents and carers of all children enrolled in the child care centre were notified of an investigation
Another 30-year-old St Clair man allegedly used his position as a soccer coach and familial links to abuse seven children, producing a large quantity of abhorrent child abuse material to circulate.
He faces 44 charges as well as bestiality offences.
In their network were a retail assistant, a supermarket employee, a chef, a disability support worker, an IT man, an electrician and a court officer.
A 29-year-old Hervey Bay man has been charged in relation to being a “key trader” of the child abuse material.
Victims were identified through seemingly minor details in photos and videos, painstakingly analysed, which took AFP agents most of 2020.
The case came to light when the Afp-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) in February received a report from US counterparts about an online user accessing material.
A 30-year-old Wyong man was arrested in February and charged with abusing two children but then a forensic search of his mobile phone revealed a huge network, sparking the creation of Operation Arkstone and bringing in state police from NSW, Queensland and WA.