How accused paedophile childcare worker described himself in online profile

A childcare worker charged with sexually abusing 91 young girls boasted in an online bio how he “loved engaging children in meaningful experiences”.

A former childcare worker charged with sexually abusing 91 young girls over a 15-year period reportedly boasted in an online profile how he “loved engaging children in meaningful experiences”.

The Gold Coast man, 45, was last week charged with more than 1600 offences including 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10. The charges relate to 91 alleged victims from 10 Brisbane childcare centres, one Sydney childcare centre and an international centre, where he worked between 2007 and 2022.

He cannot be named until his case is committed to trial, under Queensland law. If convicted of all offences, he could be Australia’s worst-ever paedophile.

As parents of victims and former colleagues of the man share fresh details about his working life, and questions remain over why authorities allowed him to continue working with children despite two reports to police in 2020 and 2021 about him, a since-deleted online bio has been uncovered.

According to The Daily Mail, the profile was posted in early 2020, more than two years before he was taken into custody and released in August 2022, while he was director of a Brisbane childcare centre where he also worked as a kindergarten teacher.

In it, the man talked about his professional childcare experiences and discussed how he helped children “develop their identities”, saying he was a “firm believer in play-based learning as well as inquiry”.

“I love engaging children in meaningful experiences that inspire their play and learning,” the post read. “I am particularly fascinated by how children use creative languages such as drawing, building, painting and music to express themselves and develop their identity.”

AFP Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough along with QPS Acting Assistant Commissioner Col Briggs. Picture Mohammad Alfares

He said “young children are natural inquirers” who “explore the world through their senses, seeking answers and building theories”, adding that “as an early childhood teacher I hope to share this journey, learning side by side children and inspiring them”.

The man outlined his early childhood teaching experience, which included around 12 months working at a school in Italy. He said he had recently returned from working in Sydney to Brisbane to support his sister, who has three young children.

Last week, one of the man’s former managers, Yolanda Borucki, told A Current Affair that he had been reported to police in October 2021 after another staff member claimed to have seen him kiss a child while she was sleeping.

Police investigated the incident while the man was stood down on full pay but did not pursue the matter due to lack of evidence, Ms Boruki said.

“[The man’s] explanation was this person could not see very clear under the fort because it’s quite [a] dark space, and he wasn’t kissing the girl, he was just whispering to her ear to wake her up,” she said.

Ms Boruki said the teacher was welcomed back by one mother with a box of chocolates while the staff member who reported him resigned.

The 45-year-old former childcare worker was charged with more than 1600 child sex offences spanning a period of 15 years. Picture Mohammad Alfares

Queensland Police confirmed last week that they had received two reports about the man in 2020 and 2021 but “there was insufficient evidence to take action” at the time.

While they investigated the man, police did not search his home or devices.

He was arrested on August 20, 2022, with detectives initially charging him with making and distributing child-abuse material.

Over the following months, the AFP and QPS detectives combed through nearly 4000 images allegedly found on the man’s phone and other electronic devices.

Victim identification experts were able to identify 87 little girls allegedly abused by the man in Australia.

The charges came after years of joint investigations by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Queensland Police Service (QPS) and NSW Police Force (NSWPF), sparked by images shared on the dark web between 2013 and 2014.

The breakthrough came when police were able to identify a set of bedsheets in the background of dark web images and trace them to a Brisbane childcare centre.

The set of bedsheets were traced back to a specific manufacturer who supplied to centres in Queensland.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough told reporters at a press conference last Tuesday the AFP was confident that all 87 alleged victims in Australia had been identified and their parents informed of the investigation.

Ms Gough said what the investigation had uncovered would “seem unfathomable”.

She said some of the individuals identified in the alleged child abuse material were now aged over 18 years old and have also been informed, and officers were still working with international authorities to determine the identities of four more children.

Assistant Commissioner Gough described the alleged offences — which all involved young girls and were allegedly recorded by the man on his phone and on camera — as “chilling news” for families, carers and the community.

“It is with a heavy-heart that the AFP and other law enforcement dedicate so much time and resources to prevent and take action against individuals who commit heinous crimes against children,” she said in a statement.

“There is not much solace I can give parents and children who have been identified … but I can tell you that we never gave up, and we never will when it comes to protecting children.”