A BATHURST man has been charged with trying to groom a 14-year-old girl for sex following a three-month investigation.
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Officers from the Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) posed online as a teenage girl to engage with the 29-year-old man before he was arrested at a home in Russell Street on Thursday.
A second man was arrested in Orange yesterday following a separate child grooming investigation, prompting a warning for parents to take a greater interest in their children’s online activity.
Inspector Michael Haddow from the Sydney-based CEIU yesterday told the Western Advocate the arrests highlighted the need for parents to spend time talking to their children about the dangers associated with the internet.
Inspector Haddow said it was vital to have open lines of communication with children, and be vigilant about who children were engaging with online.
“Talk to your kids, be engaged,” Inspector Haddow said. “You wouldn’t allow a complete stranger to sit in the bedroom with your child unmonitored, but often that’s what happens when a child is on a device in their bedroom.
“Kids will be kids, so it’s vital parents have the conversation with them.”
Inspector Haddow said parents should contact Bathurst police if their children raise concerns about inappropriate online activity.
Both arrests this week were part of Operation Trawler, an ongoing CEIU investigation into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children through the internet and other telecommunication devices.
The Bathurst arrest came after an ongoing investigation which started in December last year when detectives from the CEIU began engaging online with a man.
Police will allege the man believed he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl and that he made numerous sexually explicit comments regarding the child. It’s further alleged the man requested to meet with the child for the purpose of sexual activity.
The man has been charged with using a carriage service to groom a person under 16 years for sexual activity, and using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under 16.
He was given strict conditional bail to appear at Bathurst Local Court on May 16.
During a separate investigation, CEIU detectives began communicating online with a man in August 2015 who allegedly believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old boy.
Police will allege the man repeatedly made sexually explicit comments about the boy and asked to meet him for sex.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with using a carriage service to groom a person under 16 years of age for sexual activity.
He was given strict conditional bail to appear at Orange Local Court on May 9.