A Kempsey area man will spend at least three years in jail for producing child abuse material, and for possessing guns and other weapons.
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Brian Dyball, 58, was sentenced in the Port Macquarie District Court on Tuesday, August 15, by Judge Deborah Payne.
It follows a joint international investigation involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Europol.
Just over a year ago, on June 8, 2022, the AFP executed a search warrant at the man's home near Kempsey.
During the search the AFP seized multiple items, including a mobile phone and DVDs that contained child abuse material, as well as a shotgun, rifle, knuckle-duster and a silencer.
The investigation began after the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received a report from Europol relating to Australian users accessing child abuse material via a website. The AFP linked the man to the illegal online activity.
The 58-year-old pleaded guilty in the Port Macquarie District Court on June 21, 2023, to the following charges:
- One count of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);
- One count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
- One count of possessing child abuse material, contrary to section 91H(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW);
- One count of possessing an unauthorised firearm, contrary to section 7A of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW);
- One count of not keeping firearm safely, contrary to section 39 of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW); and
- One count of possessing a prohibited weapon without permit, contrary to section 7 of the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 (NSW).
![The Kempsey man was arrested in June 2022 by the AFP. Picture supplied by the AFP The Kempsey man was arrested in June 2022 by the AFP. Picture supplied by the AFP](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ruby.pascoe/a2df4a41-8873-421b-95f3-50ba7fa43ef3.png/r0_0_1751_975_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He has been sentenced to four years and nine months imprisonment with a three-year non-parole period.
AFP First Constable Emily McFarlane said the investigation demonstrated the AFP's commitment to investigate and charge offenders involved in online child exploitation.
"Our investigators are relentless in their pursuit of anyone sharing or accessing child abuse material," she said.
"If you have information that could help law enforcement, please report to the ACCCE."
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.