Detectives from State Crime Command’s Sex Crimes Squad have charged a man following an investigation into online grooming in Newcastle under Strike Force Trawler.
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by Sex Crimes Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Earlier this month, detectives began engaging online with a 64-year-old Wallsend man, who they will allege was using a social media platform to approach and groom young boys for the purpose of sexual activity.
Following subsequent inquiries, about 9am today (Thursday 6 July 2023), strike force detectives attended a service station in Wallsend where they arrested 64-year-old man.
A short time later, officers executed a search warrant an address in Wallsend, where a number of electronic devices were located.
The items were seized to undergo further forensic examination.
The man was taken to Waratah Police Station, where he was charged with use carriage service-procure <16 years for sexual activity.
He was refused bail to appear in Newcastle Local Court today.
Inquiries under Strike Force Trawler continue.