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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Nick Bielby

Central Coast man charged over allegedly grooming child for sex online

Police arrest the man on Thursday. Picture: NSW Police

A Central Coast man has been charged, accused of using the internet to attempt to procure a child for sex in a police sting operation.

Police arrested the 63-year-old in the Sydney suburb of Westmead on Thursday after an investigation into his activities.

Detectives from the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad began engaging with the man online last month.

Police will allege in court the man believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl - he allegedly engaged in conversations about sex and sent explicit material during the exchanges.

Police also allege the man organised to meet the apparent 14-year-old in person.

On Thursday, investigators seized the man's phone, cash and a prescription drug before charging him with using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 for sexual activity.

Police then searched a home at Hamlyn Terrace, on the Central Coast, where two more phones were seized, along with two laptops and several electronic storage devices.

The man was refused bail by police to face Parramatta Local Court on Friday.

In court on Friday, the man did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.

Magistrate Peter Feather adjourned the matter to Parramatta Local Court on September 18, when the man is expected to appear via audio-visual link from custody.

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