A 66-year-old man who had allegedly driven to NSW to have a sexual encounter with a child has been charged with online preparation.
A 66-year-old man allegedly drove to NSW to have a sexual encounter with a girl when he was caught in a police bite.
The Victorian man was charged with self-harm and was arrested on Friday in Liverpool, west of Sydney.
His arrest comes after a month-long investigation by the NSW Police Crime and Child Abuse Squadron that began talking to the Yallourn North man in May.
Police will allege that the man believed he was talking to the mother of a girl under the age of 10 and that he was involved in sexually explicit conversations about acts he wanted to do with the boy.
They claim that he organized a sexual encounter with the mother and the girl.
But he was arrested and charged with using the transport service to look for a person under the age of 16 for sexual activities at the Liverpool police station.
He was denied bail to appear in Parramatta’s bail court on Saturday.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Goddard of the Child Abuse and Sex Offenses Squad urged parents to talk to young people about the dangers associated with social media.
“With school holidays coming up in the coming weeks, parents and guardians need to have regular conversations with children about how they can stay safe online,” Goddard said.
“For young people, interacting with people they don’t know on any online platform can put them at risk.
Police encourage anyone with doubts about suspected child abuse or exploitation to contact Crime Stoppers.