The Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit has arrested and charged a man in Merrylands following an investigation into the alleged online procurement of a child.
Earlier this year, investigators from the CEIU began engaging online with a man from Merrylands in Sydney’s south-west.
Police will allege in court that the man believed he was speaking with the mother of a girl aged under 10 and engaged in sexually explicit conversations about acts he wished to perform on the child.
It will be further alleged the man attempted to share child abuse material online.
Following extensive inquiries, strike force detectives arrested a 22-year-old man at Merrylands just after 6.30am on Wednesday, October 12.
He was taken to Granville Police Station and charged with ‘use carriage service-groom person procure under 16’ and ‘use carriage service to transmit/publish/promote child abuse’.
The man was refused bail and appeared at Fairfield Local Court yesterday, where he was granted conditional bail to appear at the same court on Wednesday, December 7.
The Sex Crimes Squad comprises a number of investigative teams who lead investigations into adult sex offenders, including the Child Exploitation Internet Unit, Child Protection Register, and Extended Supervision Order teams.
Regular covert online investigations are conducted by the CEIU; and police in NSW work closely with their law-enforcement colleagues interstate and overseas.
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.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.