A MAN will front court in Tamworth on Thursday, accused of online grooming after a secret police sting.
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The 50-year-old was arrested at a Gunnedah home on Wednesday morning by detectives from the state's Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad's Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU).
Detectives from the specialist unit claim they started engaging with the man online earlier this month.
It's the police case the man believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl online.
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Officers allege he had sexually explicit conversations about acts he wanted to perform on the young girl.
Police claim he also sent material of a sexually explicit nature.
Strike Force Trawler - an ongoing sting by the CEIU - then moved, travelling to Gunnedah where the 50-year-old man was arrested about 8.30am.
Police also raided the home and seized a mobile phone which they confirmed would be subject to specialist examinations.
The accused was taken to Gunnedah Police Station for questioning.
He was subsequently charged with one count of using a carriage service to groom a person under 16 for sex; three counts of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material; and four counts of using a carriage service to transmit communication to a child under 16 years.
The accused was denied bail and spent the night in custody. He is due to appear in Tamworth Local Court on Thursday.
Strike Force Trawler investigations are continuing.
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