A covert police investigation has led to the arrest of 35 people across Victoria and New South Wales connected to a secret online child exploitation group, with more than 1,000 offences laid.
The investigation began after a tip-off received through Queensland police in 2023, and authorities say it has become one of the most significant online child abuse investigations in Australia.
Members of the group used an encrypted messaging application to share text and images, distribute child abuse material, and discuss locating children to sexually abuse.
The operation was led by the Victoria Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET), a taskforce made up of officers from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victoria Police, which infiltrated the group during the covert probe.
Police said members shared collections of child abuse material and fantasies, including images and videos depicting the sexual abuse, torture, and murder of infants and young children, as well as bestiality.
Authorities said no new material involving Australian children was identified during the investigation.
26 people in Victoria and another 9 in New South Wales, all of whom were members of a secret online child exploitation group. They have been charged with more than 1,000 offences.
Details can now be revealed as the investigation has concluded, and many of the men involved have been convicted and sentenced, while others remain before the courts.
Thousands of Images and Hours of Video Seized
When police moved in, they executed 31 search warrants across Victoria, seizing about 100 electronic devices.
Investigators identified around 65,000 unique images and videos, including more than 300 hours of video, which police say is the equivalent of about 175 feature films.
Among those charged was a 46-year-old Melbourne man, who police say created and ran the group. He was sentenced to more than 12 years’ imprisonment by the Melbourne County Court in September, 2024.
Another man from central Victoria, charged with more than 250 offences relating to transmitting, accessing, producing, and soliciting child abuse material, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in December 2025.
Police also identified several members living overseas, referring those cases to international law enforcement agencies.
‘Among the Worst of the Worst’
AFP Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason said the material shared in the online chat group was so abhorrent and extreme that it had disturbed long-serving child protection detectives.
“I am extremely proud of the persistence of the officers involved in this distressing investigation,” he said.
“The contents of this chat group were among the worst of the worst. This investigation has stopped people from sharing violent abuse material and disrupted an online market of misery.
“But there is a tidal wave of this material on the internet and constant demands for more. This is a hard reminder of how pervasive this crime can be.”
According to Victoria Police Detective Superintendent Tim McKinney of the Cybercrime Division, the investigators had faced the difficult task of reviewing hundreds of hours of abusive material.
“Our investigators faced the distressing task of combing through over 300 hours of material,” he said.
“There were also written conversations where these participants expressed their desire to find children and infants in real life.”
McKinney said authorities believe the abuse depicted in the material occurred overseas, but the case highlights the role offenders within Australia play in fuelling the global trade in such content.
The majority of the 26 Victorian men charged had not previously been known to law enforcement, meaning they may not have been detected without the covert investigation.
The AFP and Victoria Police are continuing efforts to identify victims by uploading the material into the International Child Sexual Exploitation database. This will help piece together clues that could identify victims, their locations, and other offenders.
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