South West child exploitation material case delayed

A child exploitation material case has been delayed because the Australian Federal Police do not have the staffing capacity to download evidence from the accused’s phone.

Cyle Trevor Saunders appeared in the Bunbury Magistrates Court on Monday to face three charges relating to the possession and transmission of child exploitation material, but the prosecution requested the matter be adjourned.

Magistrate Joanne Andretich was told the AFP do not have the capacity to download the material from the device until August.

In June, a joint agency investigation between the AFP and WA Police allegedly found 18-year-old Cyle Trevor Saunders had possessed, shared, and transmitted images and videos of young girls online.

The WA joint anti-child-exploitation team raided the teenager’s house in May this year, where they allegedly found a phone that contained child abuse material.

An AFP spokesperson said authorities were alerted to Mr Saunders’ alleged online behaviour after a report was sent from the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation two months earlier, in March.

The report allegedly identified that the South West teenager had uploaded the explicit material multiple times to online platforms.

Mr Saunders’ bail was extended until he appears in court at a mentions hearing on October 10.