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Tuesday 17 March 2026
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Money raised for mental health THE Black Dog Seaford Ride One Dayer took place last weekend on Sunday, 15 March. Motorcyclists set off from Scotties Garage Cafe on a ride through Rye, Flinders, and Balnarring to raise money for mental health initiatives. See story page 3. Picture: Supplied
Police conclude child abuse investigation Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au A NATIONWIDE police investigation into an online child exploitation group, which featured two raids in Frankston and another in Mordialloc, has now concluded. The police operation, a joint effort by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police, began in late 2023. Last week the AFP shared that 26 members of a “secret online child
exploitation group” had been charged with more than 1000 offences. Charges laid include possession, access, transmission, solicitation, and production of child abuse material. In a statement, the AFP said “group members shared collections of child abuse material and child sexual abuse fantasies in the mistaken belief the app’s encryption would shield them from detection. This included images and videos depicting the sexual abuse, torture and murder of infants and
young children, as well as bestiality.” “As a result of the efforts to identify members of the group, who were believed to be based across Australia and overseas, AFP and Victoria Police JACET investigators executed 31 search warrants across Victoria and seized 100 electronic devices. About 65,000 unique child abuse images and videos were identified including more than 300 hours of child abuse videos,” the AFP said. A 46-year-old Melbourne man was
sentenced to more than 12 years’ imprisonment by the Melbourne County Court in September of 2024, and a Central Victorian man was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment late last year. AFP detective superintendent Bernard Geason thanked the detectives involved, saying he is “extremely proud of the persistence of the investigators involved in this extremely distressing investigation. I would like to thank them for their unwavering dedication to identifying the alleged offenders
and stopping further abuse. This is a hard reminder of how pervasive this crime can be.” “Each of the men charged during this investigation likely thought they were cloaked and hidden behind layers of encryption. Let this be a reminder – law enforcement is everywhere. Our experts are among the best in the world at exposing and stopping anyone involved in the exploitation of children,” Geason said. Continued page 4
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