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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Matt Carr

10 terabytes: Central Coast man charged over child abuse material

North Gosford child abuse material arrest | Newcastle Herald | June 23 2022

A CENTRAL Coast man was due to face court on Wednesday charged with child abuse offences after an Australian Federal Police raid.

Investigators began inquiries into the 55-year-old when the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report anout downloads via a file sharing network.

Detectives allegedly linked the IP address to the man's North Gosford home.

Police raided the property on Tuesday, seizing numerous electronic devices.

They will be examined forensically, but police said they are suspected to contain "about 10 terabytes worth of child abuse content".

"This amount of data is equivalent to about 520 million WhatsApp messages or 65 million documents," the AFP said in a statement.

Detective Sergeant Jarryd Dunbar said the offences the man is accused of committing are far from victimless.

"The re-victimisation of child sexual abuse victims occurs every single time these images and videos are accessed and shared," Detective Sergeant Dunbar said.

"The perpetual abuse of these victims will not be left uncovered or unchallenged and the AFP will utilise every tool at our disposal to shine a light on this offending and end the cycle of abuse."

The 55-year-old is accused of four counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, and one count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.

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