A Sydney childcare worker has been charged with seven counts of using a child to make abusive material after Australian Federal Police allegedly uncovered more than 500,000 unique images on his electronic devices.
The man, who cannot be named due to a suppression order, had worked in the childcare sector for over a decade at several centres across the city. Police arrested him in July after executing a search warrant at his home a month earlier, seizing multiple devices.
According to police, the devices contained approximately 1.4 million electronic files, of which around 550,000 were unique images. Detective Superintendent Luke Needham said investigators were still reviewing the evidence and identifying alleged victims.
“The number of files does not provide any indication of the scale of the alleged offending, rather, this indicates the volume of work required by investigators,” he said. “The AFP is committed to dedicating resources to protect our children.”
The man faces seven counts of using a child under 14 to make child abuse material, three of which are aggravated, as well as one count of possessing child abuse material. He is scheduled to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Friday.
