Three people have fronted Albury court charged with allegedly sharing and producing online child abuse material.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Australian Federal Police have been investigating after the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received reports from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States relating to allegations of Australian users uploading child abuse material online.
A 52-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman were arrested after two Riverina homes and cars were searched and a number of mobile phones, tablets, hard drives and cameras were seized in one of two raids on Wednesday.
An AFP statement said the man was remanded to appear in Albury Local Court on Thursday charged with offences including solicit material using a carriage service, and possess child abuse material obtained or accessed through a carriage service.
READ MORE
The woman is facing seven charges including possess child abuse material and sexual act for production of child abuse material with a child under 16.
"In a second, separate operation, a 56-year-old man was arrested in his Riverina-region home for allegedly transmitting child abuse material online," the statement said.
Police don't believe the two arrests are related despite being in the same area.
AFP Child Protection Operations Superintendent Paula Hudson said the arrests were indicative of a coordinated, global response to child abuse.
"In both these instances, it was the NCMEC in America that first detected this material and reported it to us.
"And it was the tireless investigation of the AFP's NSW Child Protection Operation's team that resulted in these arrests."