Australian police charge man in Queensland after investigators uncover 23,000 child abuse images and identify hundreds of alleged victims online

Australian police have charged a 27-year-old man with hundreds of child abuse offences after investigators uncovered 23,000 sexually explicit images involving children allegedly groomed online, Queensland Police said on Thursday.

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The charges were announced by Queensland Police Chief Superintendent Denzil Clark, who said detectives identified 459 alleged victims from a large cache of photos and videos documenting the suspect’s activities.

Clark told reporters that the victims were aged between seven and 15 and lived both in Australia and overseas, underscoring the global reach of the alleged offending.

According to police, the offences are alleged to have occurred between 2018 and 2025, during which time the man is accused of targeting children on popular social media platforms and online gaming sites.

Clark said investigators would allege that the suspect created multiple fake online profiles, posing as both males and females, to groom, coerce and threaten young people into sending sexually explicit material.

Describing the case as deeply troubling, Clark said the scale and nature of the material were “extremely concerning and disturbingly offensive”.

“We are seeing an increasing prevalence of children being groomed, coerced or threatened into taking and sending sexual images of themselves, often through popular apps, games and social media sites,” Clark said. “The trauma that this causes a child is significant.”

Police said the man has been charged with 596 offences, including more than 200 counts of producing child abuse material and 87 counts of sexual activity with a child over the internet.

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The case comes amid heightened concern in Australia over online child safety. Authorities recently introduced a ban on children under 16 accessing several major social media platforms, citing a sharp rise in cases involving adult predators targeting minors online.