This story is distressing and shares more on extensive allegations of child abuse.
A 45 year old Brisbane man has been charged with 1,623 offences against 91 children, in what has been described as “horrific and extensive alleged offending”.
The AFP made the announcement at a joint press conference with the NSW Police Force and Queensland Police Service on Tuesday morning, stating that the former childcare worker had allegedly offended at 12 different childcare centres — 10 in Brisbane, one in Sydney and one overseas — with all victims girls.
The charges include 136 counts of rape and 604 counts of “indecent treatment of a child under 16”. NSW Police laid further charges for offending against 23 children in NSW, including 68 counts of “sexual intercourse with a child under 10”. Alleged offences occurred in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas between 2007 and 2022, with the joint operation between different services coming to be known as ‘Operation Tenterfield’.
Justine Gough, AFP Northern Assistance Commissioner, described the allegations as “chilling” while addressing the media today. She also sought to immediately address community concerns by stating that if you have not been contacted by law enforcement, “it is extremely unlikely your child was allegedly offended against by the man.”
“The AFP is highly confident that all the Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified.
Gough spoke about alleged images and videos spanning 15 years, with the process of identification taking “time, skill and determination”.
“The AFP and our partners never gave up trying to identify the alleged offender and the children in the alleged abuse material,” she said.
“While I am extremely proud of law enforcements’ persistence and their unwavering dedication to identify this alleged offender and stop further abuse, this is chilling news.
“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.
“There is not much solace I can give parents and children who have been identified under Operation Tenterfield, but I can tell you that we never gave up, and we never will when it comes to protecting children.
“This is a distressing time for families, carers and the community broadly.
“We know this type of news can re-traumatise survivors of sexual abuse, and, please, I urge those survivors to seek support, or talk to a trusted network, if today’s news has caused distress.”
The AFP said all Australian victims have been identified, with the man in custody in Queensland since August 2022, when the AFP arrested him initially on two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using carriage service for child pornography material. The AFP allege further self-produced child abuse material was identified on devices allegedly owned by the man, resulting in the launch of ‘Operation Tenterfield’ which focused on identifying the children in the material recorded at 10 centres in Queensland, one in NSW and an early learning centre linked to a school overseas.
During the press conference today, the AFP said that all 87 Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified, with parents of all Australian children recorded informed of the investigation. Some of those identified are now aged over 18 and have been informed, with the AFP working with international authorities to help identify four children recorded in the child abuse material created overseas.
The childcare centres will not be named, to help protect the identify of alleged victims.
Queensland Police Service Acting Assistant Commissioner Col Briggs gave more detail about the investigation that occurred across jurisdictions, noting that images of victim children were first identified on the dark web in 2014, which sparked an investigation to identify the children.
“The challenges posed by an investigation of this type were significant and officers never gave up on identifying this alleged offender, reminding themselves that everything you do online leaves a trace.
“In recent years, investigators engaged the support of a joint-agency Victim Identification Taskforce at the ACCCE, with several agencies working together to ensure the victims and their families were located.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald from the NSW Police Force State Crime Command confirmed the man would also be facing child sex abuse related charges in NSW.
“Today we announce that the NSW Police Force have issued a warrant for this man’s arrest in our home state, where he faces 180 child sex abuse charges against 23 victims aged one to five,” Assistant Commissioner Fitzgerald said.
The case is scheduled for a mention in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 21 August 2023.
If you or anyone you know is in need or crisis, please call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline (131114).