Man extradited to NSW after investigation into online grooming and child abuse

AFP officers arrested a Canberra man following an investigation by NSW Police’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit. Photo: Region Media.

CONTENT WARNING: This article contains references to alleged child sexual abuse.

A Canberra man has been extradited to NSW to front Cooma Local Court on child grooming offences.

Last month, NSW Police Child Exploitation investigators began speaking online with a man from the ACT.

Police alleged the man believed he was speaking with a girl younger than 14 and was engaging in “sexually explicit conversations”.

It’s further alleged that, on a separate occasion, the man believed he was speaking with a woman who had a girl under the age of 10, during which he instructed the woman how to perform sexual acts on the child.

As a result of this investigation, a 38-year-old man was arrested and remanded in custody by AFP officers in the ACT on Thursday (7 July).

Police also executed a warrant on his home where they said they seized a number of items relevant to their investigation.

NSW detectives travelled to Canberra where they were granted the man’s extradition across the border.

The man was taken to Queanbeyan Police Station and charged with using a carriage service to groom or procure a person between 16 and 18, using a carriage service to transmit/publish/promote child abuse, and using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person under 16.

The public can access online child safety information via eSafety or ThinkUKnow, a multi-agency program designed to educate and promote cyber safety.