A man has been charged with more than 400 offences linked to the alleged abuse of 24 children following one of the “most significant” investigations of its kind in Western Australia’s history.
Police allege the 47-year-old man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, abused boys and girls aged between three and 13, whom he knew via family and friends, between 2015 and 2021.
His charges include 240 counts of indecently dealing with a child, 98 counts of indecently recording a child, 44 counts of sexually penetrating a child, 26 counts of possession child exploitation material, and five counts of producing child exploitation material.
Police received a tip-off which prompted a search of the man’s home and work in July last year, with multiple electronic storage devices seized.
They allegedly contained 3.8 million videos and images deemed to be child exploitation material, including “contact offending” by the man against children, police said.
“This investigation is one of the mosxjmtzywt significant child abuse investigations ever conducted in WA insofar as to how many images were located and how many victims we will allege have been abused,” Detective Inspector Hamish McKenzie told reporters on Wednesday.
The man is due to face Perth Magistrates Court on April 22.
