The home of a pedophile has been forfeited to the government after he was convicted of possessing thousands of child abuse images and videos.
The 34-year-old was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in December, after he pleaded guilty to five online child abuse material offences.
The Australian Federal Police's new Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) team, launched a separate investigation to restrain the assets of the offender.
An application was made to the NT's Supreme Court to have the offender’s $375,000 home restrained under the Proceeds of Crime Act and forfeited.
The serious and confronting nature of the offending was considered when launching the action.
It's the second time a home in Australia associated with online child abuse offences has been forfeited, the first was in South Australia in 2020.
AFP Detective Superintendent Amelia McDonald said the confiscation would ensure offenders did not profit from, or have their property available for reuse in offending.
“Online child abuse offending is an insidious crime. This is a warning that not only do those involved in the harm of children face imprisonment, they also risk losing their homes or other assets,” she said.
The CACT brings together resources of the AFP, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, AUSTRAC and Australian Border Force to approach to trace, restrain and confiscate criminal assets.
Proceeds of confiscated assets are re-directed by the attorney-general into crime prevention, law enforcement and other community-related initiatives.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
