Childcare worker denies multiple counts of sexual abuse
The man is charged with nine counts of intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 years of age, and one count of rape. It is not known if the child abuse offences relate to the same victim.
The man has been granted bail, with a hearing date to be set on July 23. Further details cannot be published for legal reasons.
New data has revealed more than 170 NSW children aged five or under are alleged to have been victims of sexual assault or touching in their pre-school education centres over the past five years, amid rising concern about the safety of young children in care.
There were 18 adults charged with committing sexual offences in early education settings over the same period, including 17 men and one woman, the figures from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) found.
The crisis in childcare safety dominated headlines last week when a Victorian childcare worker was charged with abusing eight children at different centres in Melbourne, prompting authorities to require 1200 children to be tested for sexually transmitted infections.
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The BOCSAR data said there were 54 alleged victims in the 12 months to March 2025, the highest in that five-year period, and 37 in the previous 12 months, the second-highest rate. The figures are based on direct reports to police and those passed on from child protection.
Some of those victims related to a series of arrests in October last year, three NSW childcare workers at separate centres were charged with sexual touching of children or, in one of the cases, child abuse.
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