A man who presented himself as a vigilante journalist dedicated to exposing child abuse and institutional corruption has been arrested and charged with multiple offences related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse and bestiality material.
Arrest and Serious Charges
Landon Ashton Versace Germanotta-Mills, aged 26, was arrested at his government-owned unit in Waterloo, Sydney, on Thursday. The arrest was part of a police operation targeting the online distribution of child sexual abuse material with ritualistic or satanic themes, which also led to the apprehension of three other individuals.
Germanotta-Mills now faces a total of 26 charges. These include one count of accessing child abuse material, seven counts of using a carriage service to make child abuse material available, and three counts of possessing child abuse data via a carriage service. He is also charged with multiple counts relating to bestiality material, including possession and dissemination.
The Vigilante Facade
From around March this year, Germanotta-Mills had operated the 'Underground Media Network', a Substack blog where he positioned himself as a reporter committed to uncovering institutional abuse and systemic failures. His blog claimed to be 'survivor-led, trauma-informed, and legally aware' and promised to prioritise stories ignored by mainstream media.
However, court documents reveal a starkly different reality. He is alleged to have been storing and controlling child abuse material on an electronic device since October 2023 – months before he began publishing his vigilante posts. The documents further allege he was disseminating bestiality material and controlling child abuse material as recently as July, the same month he wrote a post criticising a police officer found with similar illicit images.
Contradictions and False Claims
His online activism now appears deeply hypocritical. In April, he published a detailed post falsely accusing former NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb of preventing a 12-year-old girl from pursuing a rape complaint. According to court documents, he was allegedly in possession of child abuse material on his phone both a month before and a month after publishing that story.
Further scrutiny of his background reveals inconsistencies. Germanotta-Mills claimed on social media to be an alumnus of the elite Knox Grammar School in Sydney, but a school spokesperson confirmed he never attended. He also changed his surname to incorporate 'Germanotta' in tribute to singer Lady Gaga, whose concert in Queensland he was due to attend for his birthday on December 9.
Germanotta-Mills was refused bail after facing court on Friday and is scheduled to appear at the Downing Centre on January 29. The case has sent shockwaves through online activist circles and highlights the complex and disturbing nature of crimes involving the exploitation of children.
