A Newcastle man has been charged with a string of child sex offences against two boys, uncovered as police investigated the disappearances of three other children.
Police from Lake Macquarie established Strike Force Arapaima in April 2019 to re-examine the unsolved disappearances of three teenage girls from the area.
During the investigation into the suspected murders, detectives also uncovered allegations of child sex abuse against two teenage boys between 1987 and 2007.
Following extensive inquiries, a 56-year-old man was arrested in Belmont on Wednesday morning.
He was charged with 13 offences, including six counts of sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 16 and the aggravated indecent assault of a child under the age of 16.
The man was refused bail and will face Newcastle Local Court again on Thursday.
The strike force investigations are ongoing.
