Australian PM's department employee charged with child sexual abuse

CANBERRA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A man who works for Australia's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) has been charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse.

Martin Parkinson, Secretary of the Department of PM&C, confirmed that Northern Territory (NT) Police had charged the man, 58, for "alleged indecent acts against minors."

"The Australian public service has a zero tolerance for any abuse, particularly abuse of children," Parkinson said in a statement on Thursday.

"These allegations are extremely disturbing and we are cooperating fully with the Northern Territory police."

Sky News Australia on Wednesday reported that the public servant was alleged to have offered minors cigarettes in exchange for sexual favors while working in a remote community.

The Department of PM&C has five offices in the NT, two of which are in central Australia.

Despite initially saying it was unable to provide any comment, NT police confirmed on Wednesday that the man was charged with seven counts of indecently dealing with a child under 16 years of age.

He will be held in remand until May 24 when he will face a NT court.

The scandal comes just months after a child protection crisis in the NT was brought to light when a two-year-old girl and four-year-old boy were raped in separate incidents. Enditem