Shocking discovery inside Australia's house of horrors: 'Everything you do online leaves a trace'
A man who paid tens of thousands of dollars to watch children being sexually abused overseas via livestream has been jailed for more than 10 years.
The 67-year-old man from Elizabeth, located in Adelaide 's north, was sentenced after a trial that lasted several months, which concluded in the District Court of South Australia on May 26.
The court heard he had paid around $60,000 to watch the abuse take place live online.
Police became aware of the man after being alerted by AUSTRAC, which had flagged several of his international remittance payments in 2020.
When officers raided his home they sifted through mountains of garbage before finding several hard drives containing child sexual abuse material which were seized.
Once officers inspected the hard drives they the found illegal material which resulted in a total of nine charges being brought against the 67-year-old.
'Further analysis of his laptop identified records of online communications between the man and people in the Philippines discussing the streaming of sexual abuse of children,' the Australian Federal Police said in a statement on May 28.
The man was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 10 years, one month and 25 days in prison with a non-parole period of five years and nine months.
AFP Sergeant Stephen Hegarty said sexual predators who expect to remain hidden online should not be so confident.
'Everything you do online leaves a trace, and we are working tirelessly to identify it,' he said.
'Our goal is to protect children wherever they live and ensure anyone trying to harm them is brought before the courts.'
Markus Erikson, AUSTRAC National Coordinator Law Enforcement, was one of the investigators who tipped off South Australia's Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team.
He said digital money trails are one of the easiest ways officers track down child predators as they reveal 'not only who they were, but how they operate'.
'Financial transactions are helping us piece together the full picture of offending and connect perpetrators across international borders,' Mr Erikson said.
'We must dismantle this vile trade and ensure that the system enabling profits becomes the tool that catches the offenders.'
The Elizabeth man was initially charged with four counts of accessing and possessing child abuse material in 2021.
After investigators looked closer into the hard drive's contents however, he received another five charges.
These included two counts of encouraging an offence, namely sexual activity with a child outside Australia, and one count of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under the age of 16.
He was also charged with one count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material and one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography.
His trial stretched from February to March 2025 and his sentencing was backdated to his initial arrest in September 2021.
He will be eligible for parole in June 2027.
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