Ex-school worker in court

A FORMER staff member at a North West school facing a multitude of child exploitation charges has appeared in court.

The 31-year-old man of Somerset appeared in the Magistrates Court in Burnie on Tuesday but did not enter a plea.

Magistrate Tamara Jago adjourned the matter and he will appear again on October 26. The man has been charged with more than 30 child exploitation offences.

Police claim he had been working in a non-teaching role at the school and was stood down in July after he was charged with one count of possessing child exploitation material.

Tasmania Police charged him with further alleged offences earlier this month.

A statement on behalf of the school said the alleged offences related to 29 girls under the age of 18, with 18 of them being students at the school.

Police said they had launched an investigation after a report of alleged inappropriate contact online with a person under 18.

As a result, investigators executed a search warrant at the man’s address in July and multiple electronic devices were seized. Police said detectives had spoken to a number of young people in the North and North-West who reportedly received online contact from the man.

The man was charged with 23 counts of attempting to involve a person under the age of 18 in the production of child exploitation material and six counts of involving a person under the age of 18 in the production of child exploitation material. He was also charged with four counts of possessing child exploitation material and two of possession prohibited visual recordings.