CANBERRA, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Australian law enforcement agencies have launched a major appeal for the public to join the fight against online child sexual exploitation.
The Australian Center to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Wednesday released images of items extracted from the backgrounds of sexually explicit materials to the public for the first time in the hope that the community can identify victims of abuse.
The Australian initiative, "Stop Child Abuse - Trace an Object", gives the community an opportunity to help law enforcement personnel crack cases that are yet to be solved, according to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
"Members of the public can view a range of objects with the intention to identify the origin of the particular piece of clothing or other item that could result in an offender and victim being both identified and located," Dutton said in a media release on Wednesday.
"These small everyday objects can sometimes end up being a key lead in an investigation - the smallest clue can often help solve a case," he said.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Lesa Gale said the images were released from cases investigators were yet to solve.
"No child is ever forgotten and investigators never give up. Child sexual abuse is abhorrent and we need every member of the community to be our eyes and ears to help police save victims and arrest perpetrators," Gale said in a statement.
According to AFP, in 2020, they charged 191 people with 1,847 alleged child abuse-related offences and removed 89 children from harm. Enditem
