A man who “targeted” children on social media and gaming platforms has been charged with hundreds of child sexual abuse offenses against 459 victims in Australia and 15 other countries, Queensland police said.
The 27-year-old, who has been in custody since last February, has been charged with 596 offenses after police found more than 23,000 videos and photos of alleged abuse on his electronic devices, the BBC reports.
“The volume of photographs and video material meant that the identification process required time, skill and dedication,” said Detective Constable Denzil Clark from the Queensland Police.
A total of 360 victims have been identified so far, and the investigation is still ongoing, he added.
More than 200 victims were in Australia, while the rest were from overseas, mostly from English-speaking countries, police said. Most of them were boys between the ages of seven and 15.
– The police are still working with international partners to identify the victims – said Clark.
He warned of the “increasing incidence of children being recruited, forced or blackmailed to take and send sexual photographs of themselves, often through popular apps, games and social networks”.
Speaking to reporters, Clark declined to name the sites the man used, but said they were very popular. All the crimes were committed online, and other suspects are being investigated.
The man allegedly targeted children between 2018 and 2025, creating multiple online profiles and posing as both men and women, police said.
(TZIP/Source: Fena/Photo: Screenshot)
