TMCnet News
Australian booked for uploading child-abuse material on webSydney, Dec 08, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- An elderly Australian has been charged with republishing on the Internet a child abuse related video clip showing a man swinging a baby around like a rag doll. Chris Illingworth (60), father of four from Maroochydore in Queensland, who has been booked for re-publishing the controversial video clip scheduled to appear in court on December 18, The Sydney Morning Herald reported today. Though the infant is seen laughing in the three-minute clip posted on a video sharing site Liveleak, it had drawn criticism from children rights activists after it was published widely on the Internet and shown on American tv news shows. However, the accused, who has uploaded hundreds of videos earlier on the the site, has denied his involvement in making the clip, the report said. "I didn't make it, I didn't play with a baby, I just uploaded it. It's nothing sexual or anything else -- just a smiling baby," Illingworth was quoted as saying by the paper. The Queensland police traced Illigworth using his IP address after someone in Britain reported the clip. Interpol had found it was originally uploaded to a Russian website, the report said. Meanwhile, Liveleak owner Hayden Hewitt has published a video on the site defending Illigworth and calling on members to help "fight injustice". "Clearly the behaviour in the video is reckless, but I couldn't say it's abuse," Hewitt was quoted as saying in the report. |