CANBERRA, ACT, March 9 -- Australian Federal Police issued the following media release:

A Townsville man is expected to face Townsville Magistrates Court today (9 March, 2026) charged with accessing and possessing child abuse material.

The AFP Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) charged the man, 22, after investigating a report from the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an Australian allegedly uploading child abuse material to an instant messaging platform.

Investigators executed a search warrant at a home on 19 February, 2026, where they seized multiple electronic devices.

A forensic examination of the devices allegedly identified multiple child abuse material files. The man was charged with:

* One count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code (Cth); and

* One count of accessing child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).

The maximum penalty for each offence is 15 years' imprisonment.

The man was given police bail with strict conditions to appear in court today.

AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the AFP was committed to identifying, targeting and prosecuting anyone allegedly involved in the abuse and exploitation of children.

"Every time child abuse material is viewed or shared, it perpetuates the cycle of abuse against the child victims," Det Supt Telfer said.

"AFP, alongside its law enforcement partners, will continue to identify and locate those sharing this abhorrent content and put them before the courts."

Note to mediaUse of term 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL not 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material - the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

Use of the phrase 'child pornography' is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

* indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

* conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.