Media Release
SA man charged with alleged child abuse offences
This is a joint Australian Federal Police, South Australia Police and Australian Border Force release.
Editors note: imagery is available via Hightail.
A South Australian man appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court yesterday (7 July, 2025) after being charged with child abuse offences. He is scheduled to re-appear before the same court on 2 September, 2025.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at Adelaide Airport identified the man, 74, and selected him for a baggage examination when he arrived on an overseas flight on Sunday, 6 July, 2025.
It will be alleged officers located sexually-explicit material on the man’s mobile phone during the search.
ABF officers alerted investigators from the South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) – comprising officers from AFP and South Australia Police – who seized the man’s mobile device for further forensic examination.
The man was charged with one count of procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, contrary to section 272.14 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for these offences is 15 years' imprisonment.
AFP Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam said AFP’s partnerships with law enforcement agencies locally, nationally and internationally, are vital to disrupt insidious child abuse offending.
“Our dedicated investigators are committed to protecting children and will track alleged offenders wherever they may be and bring them before the courts.”
ABF Superintendent Jody Griswood said ABF officers are highly trained to use all available intelligence to identify potential threats during routine border processing.
“This detection shows the critical role of our frontline officers to stop the spread of abhorrent material in the Australian community,” Superintendent Griswood said. “Every intercepted photo, video, or message file can prevent a potential crime and safeguard a real child.”
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
For more information on the role of the ACCCE, what is online child sexual exploitation and how to report it visit the ACCCE website.
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.
