Parents deserve answers, and they need them now

There were two reports to Queensland Police about this man in 2021 and 2022. What did they involve? What actions were taken to investigate? And what information was shared between departments that share responsibility? Picture: AAP

How could this happen?

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, and a shocked public is grappling for answers.

You drop your child off, entrusting them to the care of others, and you have faith that the system has checks and balances built in: a minimum standard of supervision of every child and worker, and an effective vetting process.

A 45-year-old childcare worker has been accused of sexual offending of the worst kind against 91 young girls in a dozen centres in Queensland, NSW and overseas, and he worked in more.

It will send a chill down the spine of every parent taking their children to childcare.

How could he have the opportunity? How did he go undetected? What more could have been done?

There are a lot of questions that won’t be able to be answered immediately, and there’s a court case pending. But rightfully worried parents deserve a level of openness.

It’s concerning to some that police aren’t naming these centres; police say they are confident they have every victim, but it’s hard to understand how they can be.

As much as this will involve incredible detective work, with Australian investigators among the best in the world in identifying victims of child exploitation, the public needs to know how a childcare worker was able to offend against children for more than 15 years.

There were two reports to Queensland Police about this man in 2021 and 2022. What did they involve? What actions were taken to investigate? And what information was shared between departments that share responsibility?

Asking questions is not about blame; it’s about making sure everything possible is done to ensure offending like this never happens again.