South Australian Man Sentenced for Child Abuse

Andrew Donald Steele, a 66-year-old South Australian man, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for multiple charges of child sexual abuse involving a nine-year-old girl in the Philippines. Steele exploited the girl's mother, taking advantage of her poverty, and continued the abuse via video calls after returning to Australia, where he was arrested in May 2023. Investigators uncovered over 12,000 images and videos of child abuse material on his devices, alongside evidence of extensive online activity related to child exploitation. In Scotland, John Martin, 74, was sentenced to three years and three months for sexually abusing two girls over nearly a decade, following his extradition from Thailand. Additionally, Alloys Sipapo received a 15-year sentence for abducting and attempting to rape a five-year-old girl in Namibia in 2020. These cases highlight the serious and ongoing issue of child sexual exploitation across different regions.