Key Metrics
5.82
Heat Index-
Impact LevelLow
-
Scope LevelLocal
-
Last Update2025-09-17
Key Impacts
Positive Impacts (3)
Negative Impacts (3)
Event Overview
This case highlights the severe breach of trust and the exploitation of children within educational settings. The incident underscores the critical need for stringent background checks and continuous monitoring to prevent such abuses.
Collect Records
Australian Childcare Worker Charged with Producing Child Abuse Material
David James, a 26-year-old Australian childcare worker from Artarmon, Sydney, has been charged with creating explicit images or videos of ten children aged five to six. The incidents occurred between 2021 and 2024 at six out-of-school-hours care services in Sydney. James was remanded in custody since October 2021, and his name was suppressed until the Australian Federal Police (AFP) could identify and notify the victims' families. He is charged with multiple counts of using and possessing child abuse material. The AFP found child abuse material on the dark web, leading to his identification. James had worked at nearly 60 childcare providers, but there is no evidence suggesting any abuse occurred at these locations. Assistant Commissioner Brett James reassured parents and carers that if they have not been contacted by the AFP, there is no evidence linking their families to David James's offenses. This case is part of a broader reckoning on safety within Australia's childcare sector following several high-profile cases of alleged sexual and physical abuse.