This is the moment a 29-year-old man who thought he was meeting a child instead found himself in handcuffs and in the back of a police car.
It was the culmination of months of police work, dating back to June this year.
It was then when detectives commenced investigations into the online activities of the 29-year-old man.
Assuming the online identity of an adult woman with a young daughter, detectives spoke with the man who engaged a number sexually explicit conversations involving the child.
Arrangements were made for a meeting to take place in the Westmead area.
Around 9.10am last Thursday, detectives arrested the man in Westmead.
He was taken to Parramatta Police Station, where he was charged with ‘use carriage service – engage in sexual activity with child’, ‘use carriage service – solicit child abuse material’ and ‘use carriage service make available child abuse’.
The man appeared in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
The arrest and charges were made as part of the ongoing work of Strike Face Trawler.
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by State Crime Command’s Sex Crimes Squad Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.