SYDNEY: Australian police charged a man with hundreds of child abuse offences on Thursday after finding 23,000 sexually explicit images on his computer from children allegedly groomed online.
Queensland Police chief superintendent Denzil Clark said detectives had identified 459 victims within a cache of photos and videos that "meticulously" documented the 27-year-old's alleged crimes.
Victims were aged from seven to 15 years and lived in Australia and abroad, Clark said.
"It will be alleged the man actively targeted the victims on popular social media and gaming platforms and the offending was between 2018 to 2025," he told reporters.
"Police will further allege the man created multiple online fake profiles of both males and females -- and that he groomed, coerced and threatened young people into sending him sexually explicit material."
Clark said it was "extremely concerning and disturbing offending".
"We are seeing an increasing prevalence of children being groomed, coerced or threatened into taking and sending sexual images of themselves, often through popular apps, games, and social media sites.
"The trauma that this causes a child is significant."
He has been charged with 596 separate offences, including more than 200 counts of producing child abuse material, and 87 counts of sexual activity with a child over the internet.
Australia recently banned under-16s from a raft of the world's most popular social media platforms, in part citing an alarming rise in adult predators finding young victims online. - AFP
