Use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17

Legislation: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 474.27A

Maximum penalty: 10 years imprisonment

Period: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024

Jurisdiction: higher courts

Charges

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Cases

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All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged under 25

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the higher courts, 190 charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (89.5% or 170 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 12 cases sentenced in the higher courts in the five years to 30 June 2024, use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case). Among the 12 cases, 11 people were male and 1 person was female. The most common outcome for cases was imprisonment without a recognizance release order (33.3% or 4 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 190 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 160 charges**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.08 years, the longest is 2.5 years, and the median is 1 year, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1 year and half are above.
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 3**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 by financial year
**Number: 190 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 4**: Number of charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 by financial year
**Number: 190 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 5**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 by financial year
**Number: 160 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 6A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 12 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 6B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 11 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 6E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 10 cases**

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 10**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 by financial year
**Number: 12 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 11**: Number of cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 for all people by financial year
**Number: 12 cases**

Bar graph showing age groups of offenders for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 13A**: Ages of offenders (where age is known) for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 12 cases**

Bar graph showing gender of offenders for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 13B**: Gender of offenders (where gender is known) for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 12 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of charges in cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17 — **Figure 13C**: Number of charges per case (of any sentenced offence) for cases of use a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a child aged under 17
**Number: 12 cases**