Man jailed for raping 7-year-old girl at wife’s daycare centre

A Melbourne man has been found guilty of repeatedly raping a seven-year-old girl at his wife’s daycare centre.

*Content warning: Contains content that some may find distressing*

The husband of a daycare owner has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the repeated rape of a seven-year-old girl inside his wife’s daycare centre.

The now 50-year-old offender, who cannot be named, was found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting the child between February 2021 and August 2022 inside the daycare, which was run out of the couple’s home in Point Cook, southwest of Melbourne.

The abuse happened in the loungeroom of the home after school and on weekends, when she attended the daycare, according to the Herald Sun.

The little girl later told police she was “scared” and “tricked” by the man who she claimed had a “weird smile”.

The husband of a daycare owner has been sentenced to 15 years for repeatedly raping a seven-year-old girl. Picture: iStock

The girl is now scared of the dark, suffers nightmares, asks to have a camera in her room for safety, and has difficulties at school.

She had been attending the home childcare since she was two-years-old.

The assaults came to light in November 2022 after the girl complained to her older sister about pain in her genital region.

She was then taken to the doctor the following day where she shared what had happened to her.

She was then referred to the Royal Children’s Hospital and Victoria Police were contacted.

While CCTV was located, which filmed the loungeroom where the abuse occurred, no recordings from the exact period of the offences had been kept.

The daycare at the residence is now banned to prevent further risks, a Department of Education spokesman confirmed.

It is unknown whether or not the abuser, who is originally from the Philippines and emigrated in 2002, had a working with children’s check.

It is also not known how many other children he cared for and whether other parents had been notified.

The Point Cook daycare was run out of the couple’s home. Picture: Visit Werribee

The girl’s mother says she’s now in a constant state of guilt.

“I blame myself for what happened … The anxiety, the helplessness, the fear that I failed her is like running a marathon I never signed up for. And it never ends,” she told the court, as per the publication.

The man will spend a minimum of nine years and nine months in jail and will be required to do a sex offenders treatment program.

He will also appear on the sex offenders registry for the rest of his life.

The Melbourne suburb has been in the headlines recently for another daycare abuse. Picture: iStock

The Melbourne suburb has been in the headlines recently after the alleged daycare abuses of Joshua Dale Brown, 26.

Brown, a childcare worker, was charged in May with more than 70 offences including sexual activity in presence of a child under 16, sexual assault of a child under 16 and possessing child abuse material.

STI testing is underway of about 2000 children as part of the police investigation.

Originally published as Man jailed for raping 7-year-old girl at wife’s daycare centre