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Allen Roy Murley: Authorities save six kids from Perth paedophile’s harm after child abuse find at airport

WARNING: CONFRONTING CONTENT A mother was arrested, six kids were saved, and the Perth man who orchestrated the “sexual abuse and torture” of multiple children is behind bars. That’s the result of a major police investigation that spanned two countries and unravelled after a routine device examination at Perth Airport led investigators to a network of extortion and abuse involving impoverished children in the Philippines. Forming part of the team who helped lock up Perth man Allen Roy Murley is Australian Federal Police Detective Sergeant Rachael Knight, who said her colleagues’ dedication to investigating online child-abuse offences was driven by the common goal of “giving children their voice back”. “I think people know this happens, but it’s not a nice news story,” she told The Sunday Times. “People don’t want to hear about this in their living room or while they’re sitting down to have dinner or breakfast, to hear about children that have been physically and sexually abused and tortured for the sexual satisfaction of a gentleman back here in Perth.” The man she describes is 74-year-old Murley, who could spend his remaining years in jail after he was convicted of eight offences on Tuesday. Speaking openly about how Australians continue to sexually exploit families and their children online, Det. Sgt. Knight, who forms part of the WA’s joint anti-child exploitation team, said a repeat pattern shows victims were targeted because of their impoverished circumstances. “Offenders start speaking to women, and then the children become involved,” she said. “They collect bottles as an income, and the children, they’re just exploited and they’ve got no say. “They might get a little bit of pocket money as a result of partaking in the activities that the offender requests, but generally these women are from low socio-economic status. Ten dollars here for an offender to send over is rent for the week, it is food for the family.” In the case involving Murley, a 32-year-old mother has since been charged by the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after she was arrested on the country’s east coast. Six children were rescued from ongoing harm as part of the same investigation, which involved the AFP alerting the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC). Investigations into the safety of other children remain ongoing. In a statement, the NBI said their agents conducted “surveillance in a remote barrio, confirming the location of the victims” before the arrest occurred on April 30. “Investigation revealed that the foreign subject (Allen Murley) had been communicating with a Filipina via Facebook,” they said. “Digital evidence, including chat logs, child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAEM), and financial records, showed that the Filipina received payments in exchange for facilitating the live online sexual exploitation of her children, as well as her minor nephews and nieces. “On-site forensic examination of seized devices yielded CSAEM, leading to the immediate arrest of the suspect and the rescue of six minor victims.” Photos of the search warrant show young children, with their faces covered by towels, escorted from the home. Det. Sgt. Knight said the AFP’s ongoing relationships with international law enforcement were essential to removing children from harm’s way. “We’re throwing everything possible that we can to combat this,” she said. “We need our partner agencies, we need everyone working together. It’s not a silo — we can’t do this on our own. “We all need to work together to combat this crime type because it has no borders.” Between February 2019 and late 2025, more than 940 children were rescued in the Philippines as a result of investigations into online abuse. In 2025 alone, AFP investigations led to 40 children being removed from harm’s way in the Philippines and 13 Australians were charged with linked online offences. In February 2025, Warren Arthur Dixon, 74, was sentenced to 23 years jail after pleading guilty to 22 charges. As well as paying men to abuse boys, Dixon had visited the Philippines multiple times and photographed himself sexually assaulting children as young as two. He was first charged after the Australian Border Force found him in possession of child abuse material at Perth Airport — the same way Murley was first put on the radar of authorities. ABF Superintendent John Eldridge said “intelligence” led his officers to stop Murley at Perth Airport before his devices were examined. “This was due to an alert that we had on the passenger as part of our intelligence-led targeting strategies,” he said. “The passenger was then subject to a baggage examination and a digital device examination, during which child-abuse material was found on his mobile device. He was then issued his caution and afforded his rights. The matter was then referred to AFP”. Supt. Eldridge said there was “no stereotypical child exploitation material offender” with his officers stopping people of all demographics. “Unfortunately, we are seeing a variety of individuals, all different demographics, coming across the border with the abhorrent material,” he said. “And it is due to our strategies, the efforts of our officers at the front line, that we are seeing the results that we’re seeing, including the gentlemen that’s being sentenced. “We are seeing an increase in the number of detection of individuals with child-abuse material coming across the Australian border over the past several years.” Supt. Eldridge said the fact six children were rescued as a result of investigations into Murley “feeds the motivation” of his officers. “We have countless sources of intelligence that informs those warnings of indicators that I was referring to earlier, that inform our targeting efforts, and I can assure the community that these targeting efforts, the methodology, technology we have, both software and hardware, is improving by the day,” he said. “It is a high priority for the agency, and of course, a high priority focus for the officers here at Perth Airport.” When Murley faced the District Court on Tuesday to be sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison, Judge Lindsay Fox highlighted a text message sent to a woman abusing a three-year-old, which reflected his inevitable fate. “I’m worried the Federal Police might knock (on) my door so I deleted many incriminating photos of you and your kids,” he said. That message later became reality. Det. Sgt. Knight said the successful conviction was a reminder of how the AFP and partner agencies like WA Police were relentless in their pursuit of offenders. “We are committed, from the specialists who spend their days trawling the worst kind of imagery to identify and save victims, to our operational teams and law enforcement partners who help identify offenders and bring them to justice,” she said.. “Our goal is to protect children wherever they may live around the world and ensure anyone who tries to harm them is brought before the courts.”

The West Australian exclusiveAllen Roy Murley: Authorities save six kids from Perth paedophile’s harm after child abuse find at airport

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Allen Roy Murley: Authorities save six kids from Perth paedophile’s harm after child abuse find at airport