Alleged South West paedophile facing additional child abuse charges

The South West man accused of allegedly sexually offending against six different children is now facing a further eight charges of possessing child abuse materials. The man, whose identity has been suppressed by the court, appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Thursday via video link from Hakea Prison, where the additional charges were unveiled. The alleged charges took place on November 8 2021, when authorities allegedly found eight USB devices containing the alleged material. It is understood the materials were found amid investigations to the man’s existing allegations, in which investigators reviewed more than 100 media files obtain from his property. The present charges include persistently sexually offending against a child outside of Australia, intending to procure a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, possessed or controlled child exploitation material obtained or accessed using a carriage system, and using a carriage service to transmit an indecent communication to a person under 16 years of age. These new charges come just three weeks after the man denied a variety of State child sexual offences - including 10 counts of indecently dealing with a child under 13 years, two counts of exposing a child under 13 years to indecent matter and sexually penetrating a child under 13 years. The offending, which is alleged to involve six different victims, allegedly took place in two different areas within the South West region between 2020 and 2021. The matter has been ordered to a trial listing hearing in August. His 20 remaining Commonwealth charges have been sent to a committal mention date in July, with the man to remain in custody until then.