The former chief executive officer of Joondalup Health Campus in Perth's northern suburbs has appeared in court accused of possessing videos of young girls being sexually abused.
Kempton Cowan, 55, was charged with four offences after police received a referral from Interpol about a teenager in the United Kingdom who alleged she had online communications with an Australian-based man.
Investigations allegedly linked Mr Cowan to the messaging accounts that had been used.
A statement from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said police then searched Mr Cowan's Mosman Park home and allegedly found the abuse videos, as well as a record of an online request for child abuse material.
The statement said electronic devices found during the search would be subject to further forensic examination.
Mr Cowan is facing three charges of possessing child abuse material and one count of causing child abuse material to be transmitted.
The dates of the alleged offences are listed as March 23 and 24 this year.
No plea entered and case adjourned
Mr Cowan was not required to plead to the charges when he appeared briefly in the Perth Magistrates Court this morning.
The case was adjourned for legal advice and he was released on bail, with his next scheduled court appearance listed for May 6.
Mr Cowan was the chief executive officer of Joondalup Health Campus between 2002 and 2020.
AFP Detective Superintendent Graeme Marshall said the agency worked with partners around the world to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, no matter where they lived.
"The sharing of child abuse videos and images is not a victimless crime," he said.
"These are not just images on a screen, every image and every second of a video has a real child being abused and being subjected to a situation that no child should ever experience."
