Sydney childcare worker charged with using children to make abuse material

A Sydney childcare worker has been charged over allegations he used children to make disturbing material, tipping off police after he allegedly uploaded files to an online cloud service.

A Sydney childcare worker who allegedly abused children and used them to create disgusting content has had his identity suppressed in court. File picture: iStock

A Sydney childcare worker who allegedly abused children and used them to create disgusting content has had his identity suppressed in court.

The man faced Parramatta Local Court on Friday charged with seven counts of using a child under 14 to make abuse material, three of which were aggravated, and one count of possessing child abuse data on a phone, Ten News+ reported.

An AFP spokeswoman said the man was charged on Thursday following an investigation sparked by reports of an online user uploading child abuse material to a cloud platform.

The married man reportedly had his electronic devices seized and was arrested at his home.

He worked at a Sydney childcare centre, but cannot be identified after a court suppression order was put in place to prevent “psychological harm” to his alleged victims, including those who have yet to be identified by police.

The man did not apply for bail on Friday and was remanded in custody until his next court date in September.

The AFP said there was no ongoing threat to the community.

It comes after Victorian child care worker Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 offences relating to allegedly abusing eight children between five months and two years old at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook.

Brown’s employment history spanned 20 Melbourne childcare centres since 2017, which led the Victorian Health Department to recommend sexual transmitted disease tests for 1200 children as part of the investigation.

A second man, Michael Simon Wilson, was later charged as part of the same investigation; but is alleged to have involved different children and not at childcare centres.