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A 61-year-old man who uploaded child abuse material to Instagram was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment by the Parramatta District Court yesterday (Friday, 20 August 2021).

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) received three reports from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an Instagram user was accessing and uploading child abuse material to the social media platform.

AFP Eastern Command Child Protection Operations started an investigation and linked the Shalvey man to the Instagram account.

In July 2020, members of the Eastern Command Child Protection Operations and Imagery and Geomatics teams executed a search warrant on the man’s home and found two smart phones and five electronic storage devices. The man was arrested after making admissions to having child abuse material on a phone located within a vehicle on the premises.

The man pleaded guilty in March 2021 to two offences:

Make available child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); Possess or control child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code (Cth).

The man was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment and will not be eligible for parole before 5 November 2023.

Note to media:

Use of term ‘CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL’ NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

Use of the phrase “child pornography” is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and conjures images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

Media enquiries

AFP Media: (02) 5126 9297