23 Feb 2017

NZ man extradited to Queensland to face child sex charges

3:48 pm on 23 February 2017

A 42-year-old New Zealand man is being extradited to Queensland to face charges over an investigation into a global sex offender network.

Australian police said images of the man were found on devices belonging to two Australian men who were jailed in the United States in 2014.

Operation Juliet Conduit began in October 2011 after Australian police received information from New Zealand authorities about the online activities of the two men, who were posting explicit content on a device belonging to the New Zealander.

The Australian pair had abused a child, who they claimed to have adopted from a Russian surrogate.

The investigation found the two men had procured the child for the intent of sexual exploitation and had facilitated the abuse of the child as part of an international network of child sex offenders.

The two men were arrested and charged during a trip to the US in February 2012 - one was jailed for 30 years and the other for 40 years.

The New Zealand man was identified after investigators examined devices belonging to the men, chat logs, images and video.

He was arrested in August last year and was due to appear in court in Brisbane tomorrow on nine charges of indecent treatment of a child.

"This arrest closes the final chapter on a protracted and difficult investigation that has resulted in the arrest of members of a child sex offender network that spanned the globe. It is testimony to the dedication and commitment of Queensland Police child protection investigators," Detective Inspector Jon Rouse of Taskforce Argos said.

- ABC / RNZ