Police allege man posing as boy to solicit child sexual abuse photos

A man has been arrested for impersonating a 14-year-old boy soliciting lewd photos of children, police say.

Queensland detectives from a dedicated child sexual abuse task force arrested a 30-year-old man who had returned from abroad at Brisbane airport on Saturday.

Police claim the man pretended to be a 14-year-old boy on social media and persuaded several underage girls to provide him with child exploitation material.

Police allege Springfield residents possessed child abuse material and exposed minors to obscene material.

The man allegedly tried to meet at least one of the girls for sexual intercourse, police allege.

His arrest follows a massive investigation by detectives from the Expert Task Force Argos.

Officers executed a search warrant for properties in the Ipswich suburb of Springfield in March. They seized many items that were subsequently forensically investigated.

A 30-year-old man was stopped by Australian Border Patrol officers on Saturday while trying to re-enter Australia. He was then arrested and taken into custody by Argos detectives.

The 30-year-old wears shorts and a t-shirt but is not wearing handcuffs as he is being escorted by detectives at Brisbane airport.

Springfield residents are prohibited from possessing child exploitation materials, grooming a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, or using the Internet to recruit a child under the age of 16 (intentionally meeting a child). ​and) and grooming a child under the age of 16.

The man is scheduled to appear in Brisbane Magistrate’s Court on Saturday.

His arrest comes after shocking new crime statistics reveal that children are increasingly vulnerable to online predators.

According to Commonwealth eSafety Commissioner research, 1 in 4 children are contacted online by strangers.

Lieutenant Glenn Donaldson warned that criminals learned how to miss online as a child.

“These strangers often disguise the identities of other children and use convincing social engineering tactics to convince children to take intimate photos and videos,” he said. Told.

“Once these images are shared with criminals, they cannot be removed.”

Argos detectives encouraged parents to have difficult conversations with their children about talking to strangers and sending intimate photos online.

“Supervision is key to prevention, and we have ongoing communication with children about how to stay safe online and the dangers of having ‘friends’ online they have never met.” he warned.

Resources from the eSafety Commissioner help parents discuss unsafe online practices and help teach kids how to make the right decisions about their digital footprint.

Detective Donaldson has issued a stern warning to child exploiters trying to engage with children online.

“Criminals who seek to involve children in order to satisfy their sexual needs, Argos has undercover agents operating on various online platforms every day, and the next ‘child’ you speak of is an undercover. Note that it could be a police officer. “He said.