NSW detectives have charged a 60-year-old Westmead man after they allege he engaged in sexually explicit activities online with a 14-year-old boy who was in fact an undercover police operative.
Police say that last month, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) began engaging online with a man from Sydney’s south.
Police will allege in court that the man believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old boy and engaged in sexually explicit conversations about acts he wished to perform on the child and sent sexually explicit material.
It will be further alleged that the man made arrangements to meet the child for sex.
Following extensive investigations, Strike Force Trawler detectives arrested a 60-year-old man at Westmead just before 10.30am yesterday.
A short time later, investigators executed a search warrant at a home in Gymea.
A laptop and several electronic storage devices were seized and will undergo further examination.
The man was taken to Granville Police Station and charged with use carriage service to procure child under 16 years for sexual activity and use carriage service to transmit indecent material to a person under 16 years of age.
He was refused bail to appear at Fairfield Local Court today.
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by the CEIU into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Anyone with concerns about suspected child abuse or exploitation should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
