Social media child predator jailed over heinous crimes
A depraved man who collected sexual abuse material from more than 80 children in Australia and abroad via social media will face up to 30 years behind bars.
Karan Kumar, 34, frequently used threats and lied about his age and gender online during the crimes on apps including Snapchat, which spanned from 2018 to 2023.
He also offered some victims money, e-cigarettes and PlayStations in exchange for sexually explicit images of themselves or to pressure them to perform sexual acts.
“No child and no family should have to deal with the consequences of such disgusting behaviour,” Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Kate Cuthbertson said on Friday. he said.
He said Kumar’s ability to access children with “apparent ease” demonstrated the importance of the federal government’s age restrictions on social media use and the dangers of such platforms.
Kumar was sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 18 years.
He had previously pleaded guilty to more than 80 counts of child sexual abuse, including 67 counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child using the transport service.
Kumar first came to the attention of Queensland police in 2021 regarding a social media account opened under a fake name allegedly belonging to an 11-year-old boy.
Following a search warrant in 2023, 551 child abuse videos were found on his laptop and mobile phone.
Ms Cuthbertson said Kumar showed almost no remorse for the predatory crimes he chronicled and had taken no steps towards rehabilitation.
The crimes were “breathtaking in their sheer volume,” he said, adding that the state could not find a comparable case in terms of the number of victims.
Ms Cuthbertson said the mother of a girl said her daughter became withdrawn, struggled with anxiety and isolated herself because of Gambling.
He said Kumar, who was living in Australia on a bridging visa, had accepted that he was not adopted by his family in India and would be deported at some point.
He will be on the sex offenders register for 25 years after he is released from prison.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Resolution Support Service 1800 211 028
