A West Australian man has been sentenced to 18 months of good behaviour by the District Court of Western Australia after being found guilty of importing a child-like sex doll and accessing child abuse material. The sentencing comes as a result of an extensive investigation conducted by the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET), a joint task force comprising the ABF and Australian Federal Police (AFP).

The ABF launched investigations into the man after seizing a child-like sex doll that had been sent through the international air cargo stream in early 2021. Following this discovery, officers executed a search warrant at the man’s residence in Fremantle, where they located a number of electronic devices suspected to contain child abuse material.

The electronic devices were referred to the WA Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) for further analysis. A forensic review of the devices revealed disturbing evidence, including hundreds of illegal videos, some depicting young girls being sexually abused.

Consequently, the man pleaded guilty to the following charges laid by both the ABF and AFP:

– One count of possessing child abuse material, as per section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

– One count of accessing child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

– One count of importing a Tier 2 good, specifically a child-like sex doll, in contravention of Section 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth).

ABF acting Superintendent Matthew Anthony emphasised the importance of partnerships between law enforcement agencies in protecting children from harm and prosecuting child sex offenders. He highlighted the dedication of officers at the border who identify criminals and initiate investigations, in collaboration with partner agencies, to bring these offenders to justice.

AFP Acting Inspector Ross Hinscliff echoed the sentiment, emphasising that accessing and disseminating child abuse material re-victimises the children depicted in those images and videos. He emphasised that these are real children being subjected to harm, and anyone accessing such content contributes to the demand for the physical abuse of these vulnerable victims.