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The 29-year-old posed as a teenage “social media celebrity” to coerce 286 victims into recording sexually explicit acts online.
A 29-year-old man from Perth has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for coercing 286 victims into recording sexually explicit acts over video and live on camera.
Among the victims, 180 were children.
The victims were from 20 different countries.
The judge presiding over sentencing also took into account a further three charges covering “108 incidences of behaviour”.
The man posed as an online celebrity to target young adults and children via multiple social media accounts. The Australian Federal Police, alongside United States’ Homeland Security Investigations and Interpol, followed up initial reports of the perpetrator, and in 2019, the Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team – a collaboration between the AFP and Western Australia Police Force – began an investigation.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the man was targeting victims as young as 13. In one case, he threatened to share details of edited sexually explicit chat logs with a victim’s friends. In others, he was seen to be sharing live footage of his victims with other predators – up to as many as 98 in one case.
The man was charged in September 2020, and with further charges in 2021, after police executed a search warrant at his home in 2019.
AFP Assistant Commissioner David McLean considers the man’s crimes to be one of the worst cases of sextortion ever seen.
“This type of online exploitation and abuse is devastating and causes life-long trauma,” Assistant Commissioner McLean said in a statement.
“The predator, through his façade of being a social media celebrity, manipulated and exploited 286 children and young adults for his own sadistic pleasure. Most of these victims were in their own homes, a place where they should feel safe.
“Sextortion can escalate in a matter of minutes. We encourage parents and carers to speak to their children regularly about their online activities, so they feel comfortable about asking for help if needed. We also want to remind people to never share personal information with people they have only met online.”
Assistant Commissioner McLean also praised the level of cooperation with international law enforcement agencies.
“As a result of information provided by Interpol and HSI about an Australian sexually exploiting girls in other countries, the AFP was able to identify this man and stop him from hurting anyone else,” Assistant Commissioner McLean said.
“During the investigation, AFP officers liaised with police in multiple countries to help identify victims and check on their welfare, and passed on intelligence about other offenders who had been in contact with this man.
“Our common goal is to protect children, wherever they live, and to ensure anyone who tries to harm them is identified and brought before the courts.”
Here is what the AFP has to say if you, or anyone you know, may be a victim of sexploitation:
If you are worried about your or someone else’s physical safety, call Triple Zero (000) or contact your local police station.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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