Queensland Police make horrific find on man's phone
The 44-year-old man was arrested at a property in Emerald, about 70 km west of Rockhampton, Queensland, on May 26.
Detectives from Queensland's Emerald Criminal Investigation Branch searched the property during an investigation into illegal weapons and illicit drugs.
Police seized several items from the property, including a mobile phone.
The mobile phone was forensically examined and allegedly found to contain an image showing two children, both three years old, bound with duct tape.
Police will allege the man can be seen pointing what appears to be a firearm at the children.
It will also be alleged the image had been forwarded to several other people after it was taken.
It is understood the children were not related to the man but were known to him.
Officers were able to identify the children and confirmed both were safe.
The 44-year-old man was charged with unlawful possession of a category H firearm, dangerous conduct with a weapon, and two counts of deprivation of liberty.
He was granted bail under strict conditions and is scheduled to appear in the Emerald Magistrates Court on August 26.
In an unrelated incident, another Emerald man was arrested and charged with sexual offences against a child after concerned community members raised the alarm.
The 59-year-old man was arrested and charged on Friday with grooming a child under 16 years, rape, supplying dangerous drugs to a minor, and breach of bail.
Police allege the man provided dangerous drugs to a child and committed sexual offences against the same child between June and July 2025.
The man was remanded in custody and is expected to face the Emerald Magistrates Court later on Tuesday.
Officer in Charge of Emerald CIB, Detective Sergeant Dylan Brook, praised community members for coming forward to police and assisting the victim.
'I would like to thank the community members for having the courage to report the matters to the police and supporting the victim survivors,' Detective Sergeant Brook said.
'The Emerald police are committed to supporting victims of sexual abuse with compassion and work diligently and tirelessly to hold offenders accountable through the court system.'
Queensland Police released footage showing the arrests of both men at their respective properties in Emerald.
In the video, the 44-year-old man is seen standing with his arms crossed while two police officers speak to him on his property.
'Are you willing to come down to the station with us now?' one of the officers asked.
'No dramas, I'm going to place you under arrest.'
The footage also shows police attending the property of the 59-year-old man.
Officers inform him he is being placed under arrest for the grooming of a child before escorting him to a police vehicle parked on the street.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Man arrested at US Treasury building after climbing gate, agency says
July 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service arrested a man after he climbed a gate at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington on Sunday at about 2:30 p.m., the agency said in statement. Traffic in the area was blocked off as Washington's Metropolitan Police Department's bomb squad, 'out of an abundance of caution,' examined a bag the man had left on the sidewalk outside the fence, according to the statement from a Secret Service spokesperson. It was not an explosive device, the spokesperson added. The Treasury building is located next to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. No Secret Service protectees were at the White House at the time, the statement said. The suspect was charged with unlawful entry and in connection with an outstanding warrant and was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation, according to the statement.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Top detective Colin Sutton who caught serial killer Levi Bellfield and Night Stalker rapist becomes police and crime adviser to Reform UK
A detective who caught some of Britain's worst rapists and murderers has joined Nigel Farage 's mission to clean up 'lawless Britain', the Mail can reveal. Colin Sutton, who led the hunt for serial killer Levi Bellfield and 'Night Stalker' rapist Delroy Grant, has been appointed Reform UK's first police and crime adviser. The former detective chief inspector will develop the party's pledge to halve crime in five years by hiring 30,000 extra police and investigating every reported offence. Leader Mr Farage said: 'Colin Sutton will be a huge asset to Reform UK.' In an interview with the Mail, Mr Sutton - who was played by Martin Clunes in the TV drama Manhunt, about the investigations into Bellfield and Grant - set out more of the measures he believes will clean up Britain's streets, restore public trust in police and make joining the force a more attractive career. He would give all frontline officers Tasers, reopen 300 mothballed police stations, and stop police investigating online spats. Mr Sutton, 64, said: 'Absolute respect to the young men and women who serve their communities and do the job, but do they actually do it because they want to be policing Twitter, or because they want to catch burglars and rapists and robbers?' He said 'a police station with a blue lamp' would be a reassuring sight for people walking in boarded-up town centres at night. He said he would even consider scrapping some of the laws against online abuse, adding: 'I don't mean hate or incitement, but people who are abused, let's make it like a watered-down version of defamation, then you can sue in the civil court. 'Don't give them legal aid and see how many feelings are hurt then. 'I accept that persistent and horrible abuse on social media can be very distressing and cause real problems psychologically. 'There's got to be better ways of dealing with it than sending half a dozen officers round.' Mr Farage said he wanted 'big, strapping' officers, but Mr Sutton said the best two police officers he ever worked with were women, and that at one stage 14 out of the 30 detectives in his murder squad were female. Mr Sutton joined the Tory Party as a teenager in Enfield, north London, but like all new recruits he was required to cease political activism when he joined the Met. He said he and many fellow officers would never forgive the Tories for the cuts imposed by Theresa May when she was home secretary, saying she and former prime minister David Cameron's government did 'more harm to policing than anybody ever'. He claims some chief constables would 'breathe a sigh of relief' under a Reform government. Mr Sutton joined Reform when Mr Farage returned to lead the party at last year's general election. He said: 'It's not about power, it's not about status or anything like that - it's about actually making a difference.'
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Essex police boss demands to meet Yvette Cooper over migrant hotel
A police boss has demanded an urgent meeting with Yvette Cooper on Monday to seek the closure of the Epping asylum hotel at the centre of recent protests. Roger Hirst, the police and crime commissioner for Essex, said The Bell Hotel was an inappropriate location for asylum seekers and was costing his force 'hundreds of thousands of pounds' in officer overtime to police the protests. Hundreds of officers from Essex, the Metropolitan Police and forces across England were deployed on Sunday to police about 1,000 protesters who converged on the hotel. Essex imposed restrictions on the protests that required pro and anti-migrant groups to be separated on designated sites and banned anyone from wearing face coverings. A dispersal order runs from 12pm on Sunday until 8am on Monday, covering Epping town centre and nearby transport hubs. It gives officers the power to remove anyone suspected of anti-social behaviour. The Bell has become a target for protests after a resident Ethiopian asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl days after arriving in the UK. Ten people have been arrested after violence flared 10 days ago. Mr Hirst said: 'The Bell is not the right place for a hotel for asylum seekers. It's in the middle of a home counties market town and these are people who have a very different life experience arriving there. There are schools in the vicinity as well. It is not the right place. 'It's costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. It's a lot of police overtime. This is not what we need to be happening on a regular basis in the town. It's a diversion of resources from what police officers should be doing.' It follows similar calls for the hotel's closure from Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader and Essex MP, and Chris Whitbread, the Epping council leader, who said it had become a 'focus and battleground' for extremist groups. Tommy Robinson, the political activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said on his X account on July 20 that he was 'coming to Epping next Sunday ... and bringing thousands more with me', but did not make the journey. Around 400 anti-migrant protesters were the first to gather outside the hotel before counter-demonstrators comprising pro-Palestine groups, unions and anti-racism campaigners arrived around an hour later at 3pm and were directed to a field nearby. Officers from as many as 30 police forces are believed to have been involved including Merseyside, Surrey, Lancashire, the City of London and Sussex were in attendance. The counter-demonstrators signs included: 'Don't let the far-Right divide us with their hatred, ' while anti-migrant protesters chanted: 'Protect our kids,' and 'Keir Starmer is a w-----.' Sarah White, 40, one of the protest organisers, said she would continue demonstrations until the hotel closed. The mother of three said: 'We won't stop. Today has been a great opportunity for our voices to be heard. 'We've got the message out there that we don't want these hotels. This I think has been the biggest and there's more to come. We need to feel safe, we don't currently. It's shocking. We won't stop until that hotel is closed.' Maureen Chapman, 73, who has lived in Epping for 50 years, said she felt 'under threat'. She said: 'I have grandchildren living locally. We want this closed and we won't stop until it is. It's shocking.' Police said three people were arrested: a 52 year-old man on suspicion of a public order offence; a 53 year-old woman for racially aggravated abuse; and a 27 year-old woman on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offence. In Canary Wharf, around 150 protesters gathered on Sunday near the Britannia International Hotel in London's financial district, to which the Home Office plans to send asylum seekers. The 'silent protest' had been scheduled to start near the four-star hotel at 3pm, with online graphics reading: 'Save our kids, stop the boats,' and 'Everyone welcome. Stand in unity, make your voice heard – silently.' Two men have been charged with public order offences after a protest outside a hotel in Diss, Norfolk Constabulary has said. They were arrested on Saturday after police reviewed footage from both sides of a protest that took place on Denmark Street on Monday, the force said. James Harvey, 22, of Linden Drive, Hethersett, has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence. Luke Sharman, 23, of Harcourt Close, Norwich, has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence and possession of cannabis.
