Cats in the cradle – Childcare worker sentenced for life by Judge Smith this week -
protecting our children – the vulnerable in disabilities are not even as protected a those in Childcare who were still victims of abuse by this worker (70 young children) – probably no cameras in these centres to catch the crimes done by this childcare worker and no listening by management to any complaints, or parents did not hear their children’s complaints as well if so busy working, and the childcare centres turning a blind eye to what the worker was up to, allowed this to happen for twenty years in Queenland, New South Wales, and Italy … to very young children.
The recent sentencing of a childcare worker who was sentenced for 300 charges of abuse and rape of children ages 1 to 5 years old and up to 70 of them in Brisbane and Italy has shown up a system that does not care enough for the children in it care - the police only tracked down who he was from the images of childcare sheets that showed up on the videos he put up on the dark web of himself abusing those children one a young as one and the rest of the children under five years old. Those children would not even be able to say what happened to them and many of victims only finding out now grown up shattering them emotionally.
https://www.abc.net.au/.../daycare-paedophile.../104663114
A few dozen were also from NSW childcare centres he has been also accused of abusing. This man has been sentenced for life. Judge Smith said parents expected their children to be protected when they are in childcare.
Many of the parents live with the guilt of trusting him and the childcare centres. One father said shaking in court that there was a ‘false sense of security’ with childcare centres. He now has a distrust of the system. I remember a detective in Australia tracking down murderers one was the partner of a woman who never knew he murdered her son he was so good at acting the nice partner and was never found out until twenty years later and she never suspected him – how so ? Love is blind and women appear to be blind in relationships often. The detective was saying ‘trust no one question everything’ and he would successfully catch the perpetrator.
Parents often have to go by gut instinct if they have any if they are not working so much they notice nothing which is what happens when you are too busy to think or notice what is going on. We never suspect until the worst happens. The one manager who did complain about this Ashley Griffith was stepped down from her job. What? They are not allowed to speak up when they see someone do wrong things? Parents as noted on News.com want the childcare centres to be held to account for the abuse and rape of little girls over two decades – they question how could it have been allowed to go on for so long? When the childcare centres received complaints they obviously did not follow it up – parent say they have lost trust in childcare centres noting “Those charges included 190 counts of indecent treatment of children, 67 counts of making child exploitation material, 28 counts of rape, 15 counts of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, four counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of distributing child exploitation material, one count of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material.”(News.com.au 2024)
The article by News.com.au noted “One father, who cannot be identified, said he was upset so many childcare centres “ignored the signs” and he believed they had failed their children.“We hope the Department of Education thoroughly investigates these centres and holds those responsible accountable for their negligence,” he said
and also stated “The community deserves to know that these people will never work with children again. “There obviously needs to be change to better protect children in care. “We implore those in positions of power and influence to have the courage to enact the leanings from this tragedy to a systematic failure like this is never allowed to happen again.”
Also stated by another parent: “Another mother said she’s been betrayed by the childcare centre she entrusted her daughter’s safety with.“Our centre was the one at the end there and there were so many victims and so many maintaining charges at our centre,” she said.
“It just really goes to show the level of negligence at our centre. “There’s a distrust in the system, there’s a distrust in policies that are supposed to protect our kids.” You do not trust a system where a perpetrator is allowed to abuse for years without being caught or being ignored while he does his evil on innocent children the childcare centres do not want to know. Perhaps they just want to make their millions much like the disability providers and don’t want to hear complaints. Not listening. Not caring.
The mother also commented “It’s hard to separate the anger I feel at the childcare centre and the anger I feel at him, they’re very intertwined. “The didn’t prevent him from doing what he did.
“Our centre knew about it. They had the reports made so it’s heartbreaking that in my opinion they were trying to cover their own reputation instead of the safety and wellbeing of these little girls who are going to have to live with this for the rest of their lives.” (News.com.au)
So much like disabilities care of our vulnerable children and adult children. When our children are harmed no matter what age because they are so helpless and vulnerable we are betrayed deeply and will never get over it and we are angry that is allowed to get away with Perpetrators walk free.
This man only got caught because of his filming of what he did and putting on the web making it easier for police to track and prove his action. In disabilities cctv cameras are rarely used under the pretence of privacy when they are desperately needed to protect and catch those who would harm the ones in their care. This childcare worker now in prison for life because his crimes were so horrendous wrote a note to parents for a friend who was accused on abuse in one of the centres saying “you have nothing to worry about, we have the highest standards of care and all our workers are police checked…” the gall of it and the usual words about policies he just spouted what all care places say, and disability programs say - why would we trust any workers with our children then with disabilities or not. One parent said it was only their good luck that the whole acts had been filmed, in that they did not have to prove what he did as people can be skeptical of children being abused thinking it was made up or not true – she said because it was all filmed at least they did not have to got through that – the unbelief of others even other parents. These perpetrators are good at acting caring and so other parents would not believe what they may have done to your child and turn their backs on the parents who have found out there was abuse. However the childcare centres did not take care enough with these children in NSW, Queenland and Italy so many children who will be scarred for life. Why would you trust a centre that let your child be harmed and did nothing about it?
The mother said people need to listen and not be “complacent anymore”. “When an allegation is made it needs to be made so seriously,” she said. “We were so lucky as parents, and it’s a weird way to say, but every facet of his offending was caught on camera. “What about those victims that it’s not recorded?
“What about all those victims who speak up but they don’t get believed. “For us it’s been a path that’s not been too challenging in that sense that we didn’t have to justify anything or prove anything because he recorded everything. “But there are other offenders out there and we need to believe people who come forward who say something.”
It is the same in disabilities care. Parents also have a distrust of the system because their children who are vulnerable the most vulnerable and often non verbal can be harmed easily – and yet the government refuses to make it mandatory to put in cctv cameras which are allowed in New South Wales if they are labelled. I bumped into a disability group of workers with their ones they were taking out for the day - one said to me I understand both sides but it brings a whole lot of trouble with it – the cctv cameras. There are cameras here at Macdonalds I said oh she said that’s right. I didn’t see her pack all the disability youth with them and take them outside incase there was a breach of privacy. The cctv cameras are on train stations in trains, In shops in supermarkets - our disability kids need them too. Disability providers just don’t want to get caught having workers who hurt or abuse our children and that is just wrong and all about the money.
‘Care’ means actually caring about people and that means protecting the children and youth or vulnerable adults you are looking after as a provider.
It is very disturbing to see over 150 providers banned on the NDIS lists of those providers who have been banned for fraud or abuse or under compliance orders – even after they are banned they often come back. This makes the NDIS minister and the government complicit in the crimes of the providers. Because firstly they allowed them to start up without screening them properly ann not making them have any standards for their organisations or workers (no experience or qualifications needed in disabilities). Secondly they do not make them accountable of how they treat or protect those in their care merely not making the centre safe is not enough they need to make those with disabilities safe. Childcare workers do two years tafe or university disabilities workers a few months at the most if any. Having said that childcare workers still offend as this man did horrendously for two decades with no questions asked or were there? The parents of the childcare kids who were victims (69 and more) want the childcare centres to be held accountable, it was the camera of his own that caught this man out but as one parent said what about the ones that were not filmed. Even worse in disabilities our non verbal cannot even say if someone abuses or harms them they cannot come to us for help or say who did it they are even more vulnerable and need even more care and protections. As the mother said what if abuse happens and no one believes the person it happens to – that is horrifying and it happens. We need to protect our young in childcare and in disabilities we need cctv cameras to catch offenders so that it is stopped immediately and not allowed to continue for years without parents ever knowing. No way it should not happen ever and parents of disability children fear for the harm that could happen to them when they cannot defend themselves or even speak up.
Please sign my petition for cameras protection in disabilities and protect our lambs.
change.org/disabilitycameras
all the best
Anndrea x