Richard James Tomerini: Bunbury man, 69, fronts court after child abuse material allegedly found on his phone

A Bunbury man has faced court accused of possessing child exploitation material following a joint investigation by federal police and WA’s joint anti child exploitation team which also saw the arrest of a Stirling Councillor and former Education Department director. Richard James Tomerini, 69, made a brief appearance in Bunbury Magistrate’s Court on Thursday charged with one count of possessing the material. Mr Tomerini spoke only to indicate he understood the charge before the case was adjourned for six weeks so he could obtain legal advice. His bail was also extended. Mr Tomerini was arrested on August 29 as part of the joint investigation, dubbed Operation Tamworth. Police allegedly identified the man after investigating a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which alerted officers to a person in WA accessing child abuse material. Officers were quick to respond and raided Mr Tomerini’s Withers home where JACET investigators allegedly found the explicit child abuse material on his phone. The device was seized by officers for further forensic examination. His arrest is one of many that resulted from the massive joint operation which saw 45 alleged offenders — ranging from students to a City of Stirling councillor — slapped with 149 charges relating to the access, possession, and distribution of child exploitation material. Among those charged were former City of Stirling councillor Keith Sargent, along with another unnamed former employee within the same council, and Education Department director of E-Learning and Business Systems Stephen Rakich. Last Monday, police revealed officers executed more than 60 search warrants across metropolitan and regional WA, and seized 244 electronic devices containing 35,222 images and videos of child exploitation material. AFP Detective Sergeant Ross Hinscliff said the charges demonstrated the AFP’s commitment to investigate and charge offenders believed to be involved in child exploitation and sexual abuse. “This work is gut-wrenching, but our investigators are relentless in their pursuit of anyone sharing or accessing child abuse material, and they will follow up any information to bring these people to justice,” he said. Police Commissioner Col Blanch said on Wednesday he holds “grave concerns” for the officers working on Operation Tamworth and investigating the dozens of “vile” child sex offenders. “It’s extremely confronting and firstly can I say, I have grave concerns around the welfare of my officers who spent a lot of their time dealing with these. . . vile human beings,” he told 6PR. “Our officers deal with them and they have to look at the material in bold, they have to hear the stories directly from the children who have been subject to the abuse — and that is the most difficult job, I believe, in the police force today.”