Australian authorities have charged 19 men alleged to be part of a “sophisticated” dark web child abuse network, which unravelled after the killings of two American FBI agents in Florida in 2021.
The Australian federal police said Operation Bakis, conducted jointly with state and territory police, had removed 13 Australian children from harm – some who were directly abused and others as a safety precaution – and laid charges against men living in five states and the ACT.
In February, 2021, FBI special agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were shot dead, and three others injured, outside an apartment in Sunrise, Florida, as they served a search warrant on David Lee Huber, 55.
Huber, who was being sought in relation to distribution of child sexual abuse material, shot himself.
In the aftermath, the FBI began an operation to identify the users of a peer-to-peer platform that was allegedly used by paedophiles to share images on the dark web.
Globally, 79 people have now been arrested for their alleged involvement in the online network, based on more than 211 international “lead packages” the FBI intelligence shared with local law enforcement agencies.
“This operation was highly complex,” the FBI’s legal attaché in Canberra, Nitiana Mann, told reporters on Tuesday.
“The complexity and anonymity of these platforms means that no agency or country can fight these threats alone.”
Commander Helen Schneider from the AFP estimated that some alleged offenders had “potentially been committing offences over 10 years”.
“The longer people like this avoid detention, the longer the cycle of abuse continues,” she said.
The AFP said most of the alleged Australian offenders “were employed in occupations that required a high degree of ICT knowledge”.
“Members used software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites within the network,” the AFP said in a statement.
“Network members were able to search for and distribute images and videos of child abuse material and allegedly used encryption and other methods to avoid law enforcement detection.
“It will be alleged some of the children removed had been directly abused, others were removed as a child safety precaution.”
The offenders identified by the investigation are aged 32 to 81, the AFP said.
Two have already been sentenced, and the others remaining before the courts.
A public servant living in the ACT pleaded guilty to 24 charges in the ACT supreme court in June. He was sentenced to 14 years and six months’ jail.
Also in June a call centre operator from the New South Wales central coast was sentenced to five years in prison, after pleading guilty to possessing an estimated five terabytes of child abuse material.
Alleged offenders were arrested in Queensland, NSW, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and the ACT.
Schneider said the arrests were “a very significant outcome”.
“And I think this outcome should definitely serve as a warning to those who are preying on our most vulnerable,” she said.
• In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
