Victorian Current Acts

CRIMES ACT 1958 - SECT 51D

    (1)     A person (A) commits an offence if—

        (a)     A intentionally distributes material; and

        (b)     the material is child abuse material; and

        (c)     A knows that the material is, or probably is, child abuse material.

    (2)     A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable to level 5 imprisonment (10 years maximum).

    (3)     It is not necessary to prove—

        (a)     the identity of any person to whom the material was distributed; or

        (b)     that another person in fact accessed the material.

    (4)     It is immaterial that some or all of the child abuse material was distributed outside Victoria, so long as A was in Victoria at some or all of the time at which the material was distributed.

    (5)     It is immaterial that A was outside Victoria at some or all of time at which the material was distributed, so long as some or all of the material was distributed in Victoria.

Notes

Note 1 to s. 51D amended by No. 38/2022 s. 21.

1     See section 51A(1) for the meaning of distribute .

2     Exceptions apply to this offence—see sections 51J, 51K and  51M.

3     Defences apply to this offence—see sections 51L, 51P, 51Q and 51R.

4     A mistaken but honest and reasonable belief that reasonable persons would not regard the child abuse material as offensive is not a defence to this offence—see section 51U.

S. 51E inserted by No. 47/2016 s. 16.