Children’s face painter among those rounded up in blitz on alleged paedophiles

A children’s face painter accused of uploading more than a dozen images of child abuse is among nine accused paedophiles rounded up in secretive raids by federal police across Sydney.

Others picked up by the Australian Federal Police over the past fortnight include an IT worker who allegedly posed as a girl to solicit nude photos from teenage boys, a man accused of paying three times to watch children being sexually abused overseas, and another man accused of administering a group chat focused on child abuse material.

The AFP has spent a fortnight executing 15 search warrants and laying 30 charges in Sydney, the Central Coast and the Southern Highlands under Operation Titan.

Titan’s officers hauled nine people into custody in two weeks of raids, seizing more than 50 electronic devices in the process.

In the city’s west, 34-year-old Cranebrook woman Jesse Kristal Hopkins is facing three charges including possessing and transmitting child abuse material.

Police allege she uploaded 14 files to a social media platform and received 100 illicit videos and images over a messaging application.

Hopkins had held a working with children check, which expired last year, and worked as a face painter in children’s entertainment, sources with knowledge of the investigation say.

She faced Penrith Local Court before being released on bail. She must stay away from schools and she cannot be alone with any child while on bail.

Also granted bail was Donato Grigorio, 35, from the Southern Highlands town of Moss Vale. He was arrested on August 28 and was charged with transmitting indecent messages to a person under the age of 16.

Police allege he had sexualised conversations with two girls in the Philippines. He will return to court on September 16.

A teenager from South Windsor accused of possessing child abuse material and of transmitting similar content on different social media platforms was charged on September 4.

Bailey James White, 18, was bailed at Penrith Local Court on September 5 and will return on October 31.

On Monday, Christopher Abood, 34, of Wollstonecraft, was charged with four offences, including controlling and transmitting child abuse material after he allegedly accessed “animated pornography” which featured characters that appeared to be underage, police said.

He was released on bail by Manly Local Court.

In the city’s south, 35-year-old IT worker Jack Fennell fronted Sutherland Local Court on seven charges, including possessing child abuse material.

A police fact sheet, tendered to the court and obtained by the Herald, alleges Fennell posed on Instagram using the name “Emma” to interact with underage boys.

Fennell allegedly spoke to 15-year-old boys using the chat app Discord, where he sent and received child abuse material of the teenagers, according to the fact sheet.

NSW Police, Australian Border Force and the AFP raided his home at 6am on Monday, seizing his phones and computers.

They allege the IT worker had uploaded material to a cloud server. Fennell asked for and secured bail, through his lawyer, saying he should be able to continue his work at a Bondi IT firm.

An online resumé, posted by Fennell, says he had obtained a police security licence last year and that he had worked with the PCYC, the police youth charity, about a decade ago.

Police also arrested a 37-year-old Chippendale man, who was charged on September 2 with four counts of child abuse material and is facing a maximum 15 years’ prison if convicted.

The AFP alleges the man was the administrator of multiple online group chats where members traded and shared child abuse material.

He was refused bail at the Downing Centre and will remain in custody until October 29, when the matter returns.

Another man, from Wyongah on the state’s Central Coast, is facing up to 20 years’ imprisonment over allegations that he exchanged almost 200 messages and paid an alleged Filipino child trafficker for live-streamed child sexual abuse.

Investigators say he paid the traffickers for three video calls involving alleged live-streamed child sexual abuse that lasted for a total of 56 minutes.

He was charged with sexual activity with a child outside of Australia, using a carriage service to access child abuse material and causing child abuse material to be transmitted. The 62-year-old was refused bail in Wyong Local Court to return to the same court in November.

AFP Commander Brett James said the creation, possessing and sharing of child abuse material left victims with lifelong trauma.

“Perpetrators are indifferent to the harm they cause and are only motivated by their abhorrent desires,” James said.

“Our message to online offenders has not changed – if you commit these crimes, you will be found, arrested and prosecuted.”

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