A 22-year-old man has fronted court over the alleged sharing of child abuse material on social media.
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Dylan Vincent Holland was arrested in Ross Creek on Wednesday after a search warrant was executed as part of an investigation launched after the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation received information from United States authorities in relation to the alleged sharing of child exploitation material online.
The Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET), comprising members from the AFP and Victoria Police, conducted an investigation and seized two mobile phones and a computer for further digital forensic analysis.
Holland is charged with using a carriage service to possess child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and accessing material using a carriage service, the material being child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
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The maximum penalty for these offences is 15 years' imprisonment.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Sarah Fullerton said in a statement the appetite for child abuse material had not decreased during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"The AFP does not get a day off from this insidious crime type. We work with our partners day-in day-out, to catch those profiting off the innocence of our children, who are being used by predators in creating these sickening images," Detective Acting Superintendent Fullerton said.
"We are committed to tracking down these perpetrators targeting and exploiting children, whether they are in Australia or overseas."
Holland appeared at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court for a filing hearing on Thursday morning.
The court adjourned the matter to January 14 for a committal mention.