A 66-year-old Biggera Waters man has been jailed for six and a half years for engaging in online sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16 in the Philippines.
The Queensland Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) began its investigation in October 2017 after a report from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The report indicated a Queensland based man was attempting to arrange a meeting with a girl under the age of 16 in the Philippines, to exchange money for sexual activity.
In October 2017, the man was arrested at the Brisbane International Airport by officers from the QLD JACET, as he was due to board a plane to the Philippines.
On Monday the man pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to multiple child exploitation material charges.
Today he was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and six months.
AFP Child Protection Operations Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said the investigation showed how vital it was for the AFP to work with international partners.
“This investigation began with a report from the United States about an Australian grooming a vulnerable child in the Philippines – this demonstrates that the online abuse of children is a global problem, and requires a global response,” Detective Superintendent Hudson said.
She said the investigation involved significant assistance from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation through AFP’s International Command in Manila.
“This reflects the collaborative and coordinated approach taken by the Australian Federal Police and our Philippine law enforcement partners to counter the exploitation of children impacting both regions.”
