National

Vic man facing NSW online grooming charge

By AAP Newswire

Jun 25, 2022

A man being put in a police van — A Victorian man has been charged with online grooming by NSW child abuse investigators. -PR Handout Image

A Victorian man will face court accused by child abuse detectives of travelling to Sydney to meet a child he believed he'd been grooming.

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The 66-year-old from Yallourn North has been charged with online grooming following an investigation by officers from NSW Strike Force Trawler which began last month.

Police allege the man believed he had been communicating with the mother of a girl aged under 10 and engaged in sexually explicit conversations about the child.

They say he arranged to meet the fictitious mother and girl and drove from Victoria for the purpose of a sexual encounter in NSW.

Following extensive inquiries, he was arrested at Liverpool, in Sydney's southwest, on Friday morning.

The man has since been charged with using carriage service to procure a person under the age of 16 for sexual activity and refused bail to appear beforeÂ Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad commander Detective Chief Inspector Chris Goddard has urged parents to speak to children about their online engagements and the dangers associated with social media.

"With school holidays in the next couple of weeks, parents and guardians need to have regular conversations with children about how they can keep themselves safe online," he said.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press