Twenty six men are charged with more than 1,000 offences after cops bust secret online child exploitation group

Men are from Victoria
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Published: 03:59 GMT, 8 March 2026 | Updated: 05:04 GMT, 8 March 2026
Twenty six Victorian men have been charged with over 1,000 child abuse-related offences after a covert police operation uncovered a secret online child exploitation group.
The year-long joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police uncovered the men had been using an encrypted messaging application to share both abhorrent text and image-based material, and source children to sexually abuse.
Police say the online group was shut down with the 26 alleged members charged with more than 1,000 offences, including the possession, access, transmission, solicitation, and production of child abuse material.
Many of the men charged have now been convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment, while others remain before the courts.
Police said the members shared collections of …