It is reported that a NSW police officer has allegedly accessed child abuse material on the internet.
The 48-year-old sergeant is part of a specialist command and was stopped and approached by police at about lunchtime last Friday afternoon.
Following the officer’s arrest, he was taken to the Fairfield police station where he was charged with the offence of using a carriage service to access child abuse material.
In addition, he was charged with failing to keep a firearm safely.
The NSW police officer has since been suspended from work and was bail refused by police.
Child abuse material includes material that either depicts a person or representation of a person, who’s or appears to be under age and who does any of the following in a manner that reasonable people would consider in all the circumstances as offensive:
- Engage in or appears to be engaged in a sexual pose or activity; or
- Is in the presence of another person who’s engaged or appears to be engaged in the same.
The maximum penalty for accessing material that is child abuse material using a carriage service in Australia carries up to 15-years imprisonment, according to section 474.22 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
Learn more about the law and penalties for accessing child abuse material using a carriage service.