Tasmanian former educator found guilty of child abuse offences

Just days after the Australian Federal Police released details of a Queensland man who is alleged to have committed more than 1,500 offences against children while working as an early childhood educator, the Hobart Supreme Court has found another man guilty of sexually based offences which occurred while he was working in a childcare setting.

Before continuing to read this story, readers are advised that the contents discuss the abuse of a child, and may be distressing. Please consider your own circumstances. A list of support services appears at the end of the piece. 

The former early childhood educator was found guilty of abusing a four-year-old girl and taking explicit photographs of her. He will spend a maximum of four-and-a-half years behind bars for his crimes. 

The abuse took place at a childcare centre in the greater Hobart area between July and October 2020, where the man held “a supervisor” position. 

The man’s crimes came to light when the four-year-old girl disclosed the abuse to her parents and police, despite the man telling her it was a secret. Police were then notified, and searched the man’s home, seizing a laptop and two mobile phones, where they located images of the victim and one other child. 

As far as the police are aware the images were not distributed to others, but were retained by the man on his devices. A number of other child exploitation images were also found in his possession.

Justice Helen Wood sentenced the man to four-and-a-half years in jail with a non-parole period of two years and three months. After jail time, he will be released on an 18-month community corrections order, and his name will be added to the sex offenders’ register for eight years.

In passing her sentence, Justice Wood said it was fortunate the four-year-old child had a sense the conduct was wrong and told her parents about the conduct which led to his apprehension and may have protected other children from similar abuse.

Additional information about this story is available in the ABC coverage here. Readers who require advice or support are encouraged to visit the ACCCE website for a full list of support services and contact details.

If you have information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation please call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report to ACCCE.