By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 22-year-old Narre Warren man has been arrested as part of a series of 20 joint police raids targeting online child abuse across Victoria.
Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police arrested 20 men as a result of raids between 14-29 March as part of Operation P2P.
Police seized computers, tablets, mobile phones, child sex dolls, illegal fireworks, a samurai sword, and drugs including cannabis and GHB.
The operation targeted people involved in accessing, downloading and distributing child abuse material via Peer to Peer (P2P) online networks.
On 16 March, a property in Narre Warren was raided.
The Narre Warren man and three other men have been released pending further enquiries.
Twelve other men across the state have been charged, with three others expected to be charged on summons.
The charges included possessing child exploitation material, accessing child exploitation material, transmitting child exploitation material, and using a carriage service for child pornography.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said online child exploitation and abuse are some of the fastest-growing crimes in the world.
“This is fuelled by rapidly advancing technology and new social media platforms where the ability for offenders to create, share and consume this material grows every day.
“Offenders are actively taking steps to ensure they are not caught and police need to be able to keep up.”
Dep Comm Patton said offenders had the potential to escalate to “contact offences”.
Child exploitation material was sometimes used to groom and seduce victims, he said.
“Part of this operation was focused on establishing whether any of those arrested had moved from online offences to contact offending, and if there were any children currently at risk or who could be identified as victims of a sexual assault.
“These are not simply online choices made for sexual gratification – they are abhorrent crimes against children, the most vulnerable people in our community.”
The charges carry maximum 10 year jail terms in Victoria.
Any information to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppersvic.com.au.
