Child abuse: 8 men charged with 503 sexual abuse offences against 13-year-old girl in Western Australia

An unidentified 13-year-old Perth girl was reportedly sexually abused by her father and seven other men. The eight suspects, aged 35 to 47, have been arrested and charged with a total of 503 offences against the teenage girl, who was approximately 11 to 13 years old at the time of the alleged sexual abuse.

9news.com.au reports that the men will be facing charges that include sexual penetration of a child under 13, sexual servitude of a child, distribution of child exploitation material and indecently dealing with a child under 13. An unnamed spokesman confirmed that the Western Australia police have collected a “large quantity” of computer storage devices.

Detective Superintendent Glenn Feeney stated in a Skynews report that the offenders reside in different suburbs and the only thing in common between them is the victim’s father. The men allegedly contacted the girl’s father through the Internet, who would organise a meeting between the offenders and his daughter at different locations in Western Australia to commit the sexual crimes.

The girl’s father will be facing the 228 offences filed against him, including stupefying with intent to commit an indictable offence and sexual servitude of a child.

D/Supt Feeney revealed that one of the offenders had four million images of child pornography and 200,000 copies of videos, 149 of which were of the 13-year-old girl. “It’s disgusting material. Any sex offence against a child is just beyond words,” D/Supt Feeney said in the Sky News report.

The WA police spokesman further confirmed that all of the offenders appeared in court after the arrests last week, with one already pleading guilty to the charges. The other alleged men in the child abuse case come from various WA suburbs that include Wanneroo, South Bunbury, Attadale, Banksia Grove, Wembley, Bedfordale and Coodanup. The police learned about the alleged sexual abuse in the area after receiving an anonymous tip last April.

D/Supt Feeney assured that the investigation, which has been dubbed Operation Ripstop, is ongoing and the materials seized will be utilised to capture other sexual offenders out there. The 13-year-old girl is now in safe custody and is currently receiving treatment.

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