“Unfathomable”: Former childcare worker facing 1,623 child abuse charges
Warning: This article contains mentions of child sexual abuse that readers may find distressing.
A man from the Gold Coast is facing charges of child sexual abuse, after spending most of his life as a childcare worker.
The 45-year-old has been charged with 1623 child abuse offences, including 136 charges of raping pre-pubescent girls.
The alleged offences relate to 87 children in Australia and four overseas, and includes 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10.
Australian Federal Police allege that the man carried out the offences while working at 10 different childcare centres in Brisbane between 2007-13 and 2018-22.
The man is further alleged to have carried out offences at a single Sydney centre between 2014-2017, as well as overseas between 2013-14.
Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough said the man recorded the assaults on his phone and on a separate camera.
During a press conference on Tuesday, she described the “chilling news” as “unfathomable”.
“We are highly confident that all 87 Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified,” she said.
“The parents of all the Australian children recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been informed of the investigation.”
“Some of the individuals identified in the alleged child abuse material are now aged over 18 years and have been informed.”
Assistant Commissioner Gough said officers were still working with law enforcement overseas, in a country they have yet to name, to determine the identity of four more children.
The man has been in custody since August 2022 when AFP charged him with two counts of making child exploitation material.
Since his initial arrest, police discovered a plethora of the self-produced child abuse material, totaling almost 4,000 images and videos.
“The genesis of Operation Tenterfield is linked to police locating alleged child abuse images and videos on the dark web in 2014,” Assistant Commissioner Gough said.
“The AFP and other agencies examined the images, but they contain a few distinguishable clues for investigators to follow.”
The investigation then led police to one of the childcare centres in Brisbane, and the subsequent warrant to raid the man’s home.
“That warrant relates to 180 charges of child sexual abuse, and 23 victims are a part of those charges,” he said.
“Those charges carry life imprisonment. Once this man faces the AFP charges here in Queensland, we will be seeking his extradition.”
“This is one of the most horrific child abuse cases that I‘ve seen in nearly 40 years of policing.”
“We are absolutely committed to prosecuting anyone who comes after our most vulnerable.”
Image credits: Australian Federal Police