A NATIONWIDE police investigation into an online child exploitation group, which featured two raids in Frankston and another in Mordialloc, has now concluded.
The police operation, a joint effort by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police, began in late 2023. Last week the AFP shared that 26 members of a “secret online child exploitation group” had been charged with more than 1000 offences. Charges laid include possession, access, transmission, solicitation, and production of child abuse material.
In a statement, the AFP said “group members shared collections of child abuse material and child sexual abuse fantasies in the mistaken belief the app’s encryption would shield them from detection. This included images and videos depicting the sexual abuse, torture and murder of infants and young children, as well as bestiality.”
“As a result of the efforts to identify members of the group, who were believed to be based across Australia and overseas, AFP and Victoria Police JACET investigators executed 31 search warrants across Victoria and seized 100 electronic devices. About 65,000 unique child abuse images and videos were identified including more than 300 hours of child abuse videos,” the AFP said.
A 46-year-old Melbourne man was sentenced to more than 12 years’ imprisonment by the Melbourne County Court in September of 2024, and a Central Victorian man was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment late last year.
AFP detective superintendent Bernard Geason thanked the detectives involved, saying he is “extremely proud of the persistence of the investigators involved in this extremely distressing investigation. I would like to thank them for their unwavering dedication to identifying the alleged offenders and stopping further abuse. This is a hard reminder of how pervasive this crime can be.”
“Each of the men charged during this investigation likely thought they were cloaked and hidden behind layers of encryption. Let this be a reminder – law enforcement is everywhere. Our experts are among the best in the world at exposing and stopping anyone involved in the exploitation of children,” Geason said.
Victoria Police detective superintendent cybercrime division Tim McKinney said “our investigators faced the distressing task of combing through 300+ hours of material. There were also written conversations where these participants expressed their desire to find children and infants in real life.”
“Though we believe the contact offending in this material occurred offshore, this investigation highlights that there are individuals living in our community who for unfathomable reasons want access to this material and by their interest feed its production and distribution,” he said.
“The majority of the 26 men charged in Victoria were not previously known to law enforcement. Without this covert operation, these men would not have been stopped, and they would not have been brought to justice.
“The harsh reality is that the prevalence of child abuse material in society is only growing, and there is no set idea of what an offender looks like. It can be anyone – a young person in their teens, someone who is married with a family, people in relationships.
“Our investigators will never stop; they will continue to work tirelessly to prevent children from further harm. Everything you do online leaves a footprint and is almost impossible to conceal. If you believe hiding behind a screen affords you anonymity, you are wrong. You can and very well should expect a knock on the door from law enforcement.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 17 March 2026