Perth educator faces court on five counts relating to child abuse

Before engaging with this piece readers should be aware that it discusses harm to children, and should consider their own circumstances before continuing to read. 

A 26 year old early childhood educator faced court in Perth on Friday in relation to a series of charges concerning the scratching of children in her care whilst employed at an early childhood service in 2020. 

At the time the issue was raised (between June and August 2020) up to 20 children were found with notable scratches which were not present when the children, who were aged about three or four years, were dropped off at the centre by their parents.

The educator pled not guilty to 32 charges of assault, and was acquitted of all but five of them, with her lawyer arguing that her client had been made ‘a scapegoat’ in what was a flawed investigation by the service which was under mounting pressure from parents and staff to ‘find someone to blame’.

The educator claimed the scratches were instead caused by other children or by play equipment, something which the prosecutor said was ‘implausible and not reasonable.’

While no one had witnessed the educator inflicting any scratches on children, the service maintained that  she had “a tendency to engage in behaviour to scratch children on the face” and that she was “always present or near the child” who suffered the injuries.

When the educator last faced court in relation to the allegations, in 2022, the trial ran for four weeks. 

The educator has been released on bail having been found not guilty of 27 charges, and is due to be sentenced in November regarding the remaining five charges, which relate to conduct on August 25 2020 only.

Any readers who are in immediate danger, or who have concerns that a child is in immediate danger, should call 000. 

For other concerns about the safety and wellbeing of children in your care follow the child abuse reporting guidelines for your jurisdiction.