Two NSW men – including a former childcare worker – have been sentenced to a combined 63 years’ jail today (7 May, 2024) at Downing Centre District Court for a series of child abuse offences.
The men, aged 30 and 25, pleaded guilty in 2022 to a combined 354 child abuse offences involving 30 child victims.
The older man was convicted of 248 offences, including 30 offences of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years of age. He was sentenced to 37 years, with a non-parole period of 26 years.
The younger man was convicted of 106 offences, including 31 offences of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years of age. He was sentenced to 26 years, with a non-parole period of 16 years and nine months.
The pair were arrested in Operation Arkstone, a major AFP-led investigation launched in 2020 following a tip-off from the United States’ National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to the AFP’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE).
AFP’s Operation Arkstone dismantled a domestic online network of child sex offenders abusing and exploiting children, including the recording of the horrific crimes to share with others.
Twenty-five people across Australia were charged with 1350 offences as a result of the investigation, with the digital trail identifying at least 56 child victims who were removed from harm.
The NSW men were arrested in June 2020 after investigators from AFP’s Eastern Command Child Protection Operations and NSW Police Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad executed search warrants in the state’s mid-north coast.
AFP Commander Kate Ferry said the AFP was relentless in its pursuit of anyone producing and sharing child abuse material.
“Operation Arkstone began as a result of one small piece of information. What the AFP and its domestic and international law enforcement partners uncovered in the weeks and months that followed was truly some of the worst offending we have ever seen,” she said.
“The criminal behaviour of these two men is perhaps the most disturbing representation of what child sex offenders are capable of, being the systemic sexual abuse of children over many years, across geographical locations and by people who have been entrusted with so much responsibility.
“Some of those arrested during Operation Arkstone were meant to keep our children safe. Instead, they used their position to commit some of the most evil crimes imaginable.
“Operation Arkstone should serve as a warning that there is no dark corner of the internet that is safe for offenders to hide, and there is nowhere the AFP and its law enforcement partners won’t go to hunt you down and drag you out into the light.
“Finally, and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the courage of the victims and their families. Your determination to seek justice inspired our investigators every day. I hope today’s court result helps you to take the next step in your path towards healing.”
Commander of NSW Police State Crime Command’s Child Abuse Squad, Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett, said her team was committed to the protection of children.
“Children are our some of our community’s most vulnerable – and if you offend against them – it is only a matter of time before police come knocking on your door,” she said.
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE at www.accce.gov.au/report. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available at www.accce.gov.au/support.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
