Public help track alleged hit run driver, child exploitation material subsequently found

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A 50-year-old man has been remanded in custody after facing a Cairns court on several charges, including possessing child exploitation material and failing to stop at a traffic crash.

Police allege the man was involved in a hit and run on the Kennedy Highway near Kuranda on Wednesday, which caused damage to a blue Volkswagen hatchback.

After determining the South Australian registration plates on both the man’s white van and trailer were false, they released photographs and appealed for help from the public to find him.

Acting Detective Inspector Kevin Goan said officers were inundated with calls.

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“Police at a shopping centre in Manunda were alerted to his presence at that location and have taken him into custody,” he said.

“We’re very happy with the public’s assistance … it was within a 24 hour period.”

The importance of the tip-offs was soon made apparent, with searches of the man’s van and trailer allegedly uncovering computers and smart phones containing child exploitation images.

“The abhorrent material he possessed on his computer – electronic devices – I’d say demonstrates the true nature of this person,” Act Insp Goan said.

“Those images will be categorised throughout the investigation.”

Officers also allegedly found stolen registration plates and credit cards in the possession of the man, who was described as originally being from the Sunshine Coast, but living a ‘nomadic’ existence.

“The false registration plates were acquired by this person to simply change his identity or the way his vehicle could be recorded as he moved around Australia … until this incident in Kuranda,” Act Insp Goan said.

“The fact that he’s wandered around North Queensland and the Northern Territory changing his registration plates to avoid the detection of police, we could safely allude to other nefarious activities, all of which present as very real harms to our community.”

The 50-year-old appeared in Cairns Magistrates Court this morning charged with possessing child exploitation material, failing to stop at an accident and bringing stolen property into Queensland.

He was remanded in custody until his next appearance on 6 October.

The man’s partner, a 48-year-old woman, has also been charged with three counts of possessing child exploitation material.

Police say their investigation is ongoing and further charges could be laid.