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Director of Education, 67, admits possession of child abuse material after police raided his home
- A massive joint operation saw raids on 45 suspected pedophiles across the country
- WA chief of education Stephen Joseph Rakich, 67, was among those charged
- He pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday to possession of child pornography
- Rakich has been suspended and faces further raid related charges
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A head of education seized in a pedophile blitz has confessed to having a stash of despicable child exploitation material.
Stephen Joseph Rakich, 67, admitted in court on Tuesday that he was in possession of the child abuse material when police raided his home on Sept. 1.
The Western Australian director of e-learning and business systems was entangled in a massive operation by the WA Police, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force.
Stephen Joseph Rakich, 67, admitted in court on Tuesday that he was in possession of child abuse material when police raided his home on Sept. 1 (pictured, AFP agents check laptops on 45 suspects during the raid earlier this month)
That week, police conducted 61 searches of the homes and property of 45 suspected child molesters in seven days.
The massive joint exercise, said to be the largest of its kind in Australia, led to 149 charges, including one charge of possession of child exploitation material against Rakich, who was facing charges. Midland Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Rakich was pulled from his role in the WA state government after he was indicted after the raid on his rural home in Millendon, in Perth’s northeastern suburbs.
“This employee has been suspended,” Education Department Director General Lisa Rodgers said The Western Australian.
“I have been informed that an employee, who is a civil servant in the department and has no contact with school children, has recently been charged.”
Police rescued three teenage sexual abuse victims in 61 searches in a seven-day dive into the homes and property of 45 suspected child molesters (photos, laptops and hard drives containing alleged child abuse material are inspected by police)
The massive joint drill, reportedly the largest of its kind in Australia, led to 149 charges, including Rakich standing before the Midland Magistrates Court on Tuesday (photo, memory cards and hard drives collected during the 45 raids in Western Australia)
According to his LinkedIn profile, Rakich has been working in the education department since 2008.
He will appear in court in November on material charges of child abuse.
Rakich has yet to plead for further charges of possessing or copying an indecent or obscene article and will return to the Midland Magistrates Court in February against the additional charge.