Sydney Man Charged Over Online Child Abuse Network
A young Sydney man has been accused of having links to an online network which creates and shares child abuse material.
20-year-old Alec McGeary, an IT worker and OnlyFans account-holder, was arrested on Wednesday last week in an Australian Federal Police (AFP) raid over a suspected online child abuse network.
Formerly from Hobart in Tasmania, McGeary was arrested at his apartment in Botany, in Sydney’s South, and charged with possessing or controlling child abuse material by using a carriage service to access child abuse material.
A search warrant was executed at McGeary’s residence on 20 May 2020 by the AFP’s NSW Child Protection Operations team, assisted by the NSW Police Force’s Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad, as well as members of the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE).
During the search warrant, several electronic devices were seized for evidentiary purposes. Officers allegedly found at least 11 videos on electronic devices.
McGeary was identified in court as being a part of an ongoing Australia-wide investigation looking into a national network that was allegedly distributing child abuse material.
According to the Southern Courier, McGeary was held in custody overnight before appearing in the Central Local Court via video-link from the Sydney Police Centre on Thursday 21 May.
Magistrate Philip Stewart granted McGeary strict conditional bail, but insisted that his mother post a $2000 surety to guarantee the Hobart-raised man did not leave the state.
While Commonwealth prosecutors did not oppose bail, Magistrate Stewart made clear his “significant” concerns about releasing someone with few community ties in NSW.
The magistrate also told the court that the case against McGeary was ‘overwhelmingly strong’ based on the evidence presented in court, as well as admissions made by the accused.
McGeary is now banned from using the internet as part of his bail conditions and is due to return to court on 22 July.
The investigation began in February this year after the United States’ National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) tipped off Australian authorities.
The NCMEC’s original tip-off has also led to dozens of charges being laid against several other Australians for child abuse offences.
McGeary is described as well “known” around Sydney’s LGBTQI community since moving from Tasmania in early 2019.
His Instagram account consists of images showing him wearing swimwear or underwear, and a direct link to his OnlyFans account which has 53 posts including 61 videos.
McGeary mentions his hobbies on his OnlyFans which include; Gaming, Technology, Science, Maths, Gym, Pyrotechnics & Explosives and Pole Dancing.
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