Indian man jailed for 30 years for child exploitation in Australia

Karan Kumar, who is living in Australia with his wife on a bridging visa, made fake social media accounts in the name of minor boys and girls to elicit child abuse material.

Illustration: Shruti Naithani | ThePrint

New Delhi: An Indian national working as an Uber Eats driver in Tasmania, Australia, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for exploiting over 100 children through social media. The 34-year-old man, Karan Kumar, would lure his victims into sending explicit material to him and threaten to share it online, reported The Mercury.

Kumar, on 5 June, appeared before the Supreme Court of Tasmania where he was handed a 30-year jail term by Justice Kate Cuthbertson. He had earlier pleaded guilty to about 100 state and federal child-exploitation charges, the report said.

“No child and no family should have to deal with the aftermath of such heinous conduct,” Justice Cuthbertson was quoted as saying by The Examiner.

The court heard that Kumar, who is living in Australia with his wife on a bridging visa, made fake social media accounts in the name of minor boys and girls to elicit child abuse material. He would lure the victims by offering cash, PlayStation or vapes, and would even threaten them into performing sexual acts online.

Kumar began exploiting children in 2018 and came under the Queensland police  radar in 2021 for posing as an 11-year-old on Snapchat. He eventually ran out of luck in 2023, when one of the victims’ mother contacted police and a search was conducted at his house in May. Authorities found a Snapchat account on a mobile phone in Kumar’s bathroom made in the name of a 15-year-old boy. Kumar admitted that he created the account, according to The Noticer.

Authorities also found about 550 videos of child abuse on the phone and Kumar’s laptop, with some of the screen-recorded footage having Kumar’s face.

‘No remorse’

Justice Cuthbertson  said that one of the victims had isolated herself and struggled with anxiety due to Kumar’s acts.

“Your offending is objectively extremely serious,” the judge said. “There is no question that this offending was solely for your sexual gratification.”

Justice Cuthbertson also noted that Kumar had shown no remorse and that such acts are one of the reasons why the Australia government put a ban on social media for children under 16.

Kumar will have to spend 15 years behind bars before he becomes eligible for parole. After his release, his name will remain on the offender register for 25 years. The Indian national also faces deportation once he completes his sentence.