The men were charged following arrests from Cairns to Brisbane in the past two weeks by detectives investigating child exploitation and grooming online.

“The offences alleged to have been committed by these men are extremely serious and in some cases truly shocking,” Detective Acting Superintendent Glen Donaldson told reporters on Tuesday.

One of the men, a 46-year-old from Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, is accused of 20 offences including running an encrypted child exploitation forum, grooming a child with the intention to meet for sex, and following girls into public toilets and taking indecent images of them without their knowledge.

“As a father myself, I find this truly terrifying,” Det Supt Donaldson said.

The man appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 31 and was remanded in custody until September 18.

Another man, a 22-year-old from Albion in Brisbane’s north, was charged with 14 offences including grooming a child on social media and exposing them to indecent material.

A 26-year-old man from Carina in Brisbane’s east was charged with five offences, including using the internet to try to meet a 14-year-old for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

A 44-year-old from Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast faces 62 child sex offences including the possessing and making of child exploitation material and distributing child abuse material on social media.

A 42-year-old from Upper Kedron in Brisbane’s west and a 39-year-old from Cairns were charged with offences including using an online platform to possess child exploitation material.

The men are due to face court in the coming weeks.

The charges were a reminder to parents about the dangers children faced online, Det Supt Donaldson said.

“These investigations and arrests pose a stark warning to all parents to have conversations with their children about their child’s digital footprint, what websites and platforms their children are on, and the dangers of accepting friend requests from people that they don’t know.

“And it is important that parents and carers talk to their children and remind them that nothing is so embarrassing that they can’t speak up and seek help from a trusted adult.”

The arrests took place in the lead-up to Child Protection Week, which began on Monday and aims to educate the community about preventing child abuse and neglect.

Queensland Police charged almost 1590 people with more than 8000 child sex offences in the 12 months to June 30.

Police said they submitted about 15,700 reports to the Department of Child Safety regarding children considered at risk of significant harm.

They also carried out more than 800 proactive home visits and compliance checks at the residence of Reportable Child Sex Offenders.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028