Rebecca Michels was charged with child pornography offences. Credit:John Wouldstra "HSI gives this wake-up call to would-be child predators: If you think you can trade in child pornography and commit heinous acts against innocent children while hiding behind pseudonyms and other technological tricks – there's not enough digital savvy in the world to dissuade or prevent HSI and our international law-enforcement partners from tracking down, arresting and bringing to prosecution depraved individuals who bring suffering to children." The hunt for Mergen and Shauger began in late 2011, when a young couple from the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Langwarrin – Craig Stanley and Rebecca Michels – were reported missing. Stanley and Michels left a note for family and friends saying they were heading to central Victoria to pan for gold, loaded their gear into a rental car and vanished. Distraught family members made tearful pleas for public help in finding the couple, describing their disappearance as totally out of character. However, behind the scenes, police were fairly sure they knew why the couple had left home in a hurry. Two weeks after their disappearance, on November 8, detectives revealed that Stanley and Michels were wanted for "serious criminal offences".

On November 19, Stanley was arrested at a supermarket in Dimboola and Michels was found soon after at a nearby campsite. They were both charged with child pornography offences and Stanley was also accused of an indecent act with a child. They pleaded guilty, and on July 5, 2012, Stanley, 28, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and placed on the sex offenders' register for life. Michels received an 18-month community corrections order and was also placed on the register. Astraea detectives had been analysing child abuse images found at the couple's home, and found a series depicting the abuse of a young girl. The person who had created the images was also responsible for a picture showing a couple holding a sign with the name of a nudist website and a user name. Using the nudist website and username as a starting point, Leading Senior Constable Simon Fogarty discovered the couple in the photo was in the US and was able to unearth some details, including email addresses. Following the tip-off from Victoria Police, in the United States Mr Walker and other agents worked frantically to identify the people who created and sent the images.

On August 21 last year they swooped on Mergen and Shauger, charging them with producing and possessing child pornography. More importantly, they rescued two children, including the girl from the photographs found on Craig Stanley's computer. LSC Fogarty told Fairfax Media after Mergen pleaded guilty in April that the day the American couple was arrested was probably the best of his career. "We cannot understate the work that was done by Homeland Security investigators in their response to this matter. This matter highlights the strong co-operation Victoria Police has developed with their international counterparts investigating the abuse of children," he said this week. "Taskforce Astraea is strongly committed to identifying child victims through close working partnerships with local sexual crimes investigators and our interstate and international counterparts. We will continue to strengthen these ties to combat the abuse of children."