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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The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Never to be silenced again: Sarah Cook comes out about her abuse in new book
IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. 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Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm. IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm. IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm.
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The Age
13 hours ago
- The Age
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Disgraced former CFMEU boss John Setka has denied trying to coerce the AFL into sacking umpiring chief Steve McBurney, saying he was justified in his criticism because McBurney acted with anti-union 'zealotry' and should not be overseeing a 'working man's sport'. Setka made the comments in his defence to legal action taken against him by the Fair Work Ombudsman over his extraordinary spray against McBurney, former boss of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, in news articles and radio appearances in 2024. The FWO alleges Setka took adverse action against McBurney over decisions he made as head of the ABCC, including initiating or participating in more than 50 court actions against the union between 2018 and 2023, when he was leading the commission. It also alleges Setka threatened the AFL that CFMEU members would work to rule at any worksite related to an AFL building project as part of his efforts to coerce the AFL to dump McBurney. The legal action could lead to large fines reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars against Setka and the CFMEU. Until last week, Setka had failed to file any defence to the FWO claim, telling the Federal Court he was unable to attend to the matter due to poor health. Loading Along with his long-awaited defence to the FWO claim, Setka has also filed a counterclaim against the CFMEU, alleging he was acting within his remit as the head of the Victorian arm of the union at the time and that the union's administrator had refused to pay for his legal fees. Setka stood down from his union role in July 2024 days ahead of an investigation led by this masthead, Building Bad, which revealed serious ongoing misconduct within the union and links to organised crime figures. He has long claimed he was unfairly targeted in the investigation. The media investigation led to an administrator being appointed to the union to weed out rogue elements.
