Crime Commission Issues Chilling Child Exploitation Warning

By Cameron Atfield
Brisbane Times
October 31, 2015

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/crime-commission-issues-chilling-child-exploitation-warning-20151030-gknfqj.html

The threat of paedophilia was only set to rise in the future, according to a disturbing prediction in the Queensland Organised Crime Commission of Inquiry.

Commissioner Michael Byrne, QC, handed down the report from the $6 million, six-month inquiry on Friday and there were predictions that would cause considerable community concern.

"There can be little doubt that child sex offending, particularly to feed the illicit and insatiable child exploitation market, represents a risk with an upward trajectory," the report finds.

"Further, there is a growing trend towards commercialisation of the child exploitation market.

"Despite the fact that child exploitation material is often viewed as a commodity in itself, the Queensland Police Service told the commission that offenders are increasingly using difficult-to-trace crypto-currencies to purchase or obtain access to child exploitation material."

Detective Inspector Jon Rouse of Taskforce Argos, the QPS unit dedicated to combating child exploitation, told the commission networking among sexual predators was "evolving rather than emerging".

"He stated that as technology changes, offenders and their networks evolve and use technology to add depth to their offending and to avoid detection," Mr Byrne says in the report.

"…Detective Rouse told the commission that sex offenders have, for some time, been known to form networks.

"By way of example, he referred to the arrest of an offender many years ago, who had operated a child sex offenders' network via CB radio. That network boated a membership of about 170 offenders.

"The network of 45,000 members, administered by Shannon McCoole using Tor on the Darknet, shows the extent to which technology and the cyber environment has enabled the growth of global, sophisticated networks of child sex offenders.

"That growth is likely to continue with ongoing advancements in technology."

Another disturbing and emerging trend, the commission found, was the "demand for more 'hard core' and 'hurt core' images and videos".

"Predators will also continue to use whatever platforms available to groom and procure children," Mr Byrne says in the report, "including on social media, in online chat rooms, and using online gaming platforms (such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and the PC online gaming network running through platforms such as Steam)."

Mr Byrne said offenders were increasingly likely to infiltrate gaming communities online.

"Conversations between predators and children online were seen to become sexualised within a matter of minutes, with some offenders reporting that they no longer needed to bother with grooming children when they could immediately ask for sex, or meet to facilitate sexual abuse," Mr Byrne says in his report.

"Researchers found that some offenders spent up to six hours a day on 'fishing expeditions', where they pepper hundreds of children until they find one willing to interact."

The commission was held behind closed doors, despite earlier assurances there would be public hearings.

"It was the intention of the commission, as I publicly stated when it commenced, to hold public inquiries to expose what was being done," Mr Byrne said.

"It became apparent to us that was neither an effective nor efficient way to carry out the task entrusted to the commission."

Mr Byrne said in order to fulfil the commission's terms of reference, it could not divulge intelligence gathering matters nor expose witnesses to the risk of retribution.

Shadow attorney-general Ian Walker said on Friday the opposition had its concerns about the secrecy that surrounded the commission.

Its report was highly critical of the former LNP government's focus on outlaw motorcycle gangs, which it found was at the detriment of other investigations.

The report made 43 recommendations, which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said would all be fully considered by her government.