Man jailed for raping 7-year-old girl at wife's daycare centre
The husband of a daycare owner has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the repeated rape of a seven-year-old girl inside his wife's daycare centre.
The now 50-year-old offender, who cannot be named, was found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting the child between February 2021 and August 2022 inside the daycare, which was run out of the couple's home in Point Cook, southwest of Melbourne.
The abuse happened in the loungeroom of the home after school and on weekends, when she attended the daycare, according to the Herald Sun.
The little girl later told police she was 'scared' and 'tricked' by the man who she claimed had a 'weird smile'.
The girl is now scared of the dark, suffers nightmares, asks to have a camera in her room for safety, and has difficulties at school.
She had been attending the home childcare since she was two-years-old.
The assaults came to light in November 2022 after the girl complained to her older sister about pain in her genital region.
She was then taken to the doctor the following day where she shared what had happened to her.
She was then referred to the Royal Children's Hospital and Victoria Police were contacted.
While CCTV was located, which filmed the loungeroom where the abuse occurred, no recordings from the exact period of the offences had been kept.
The daycare at the residence is now banned to prevent further risks, a Department of Education spokesman confirmed.
It is unknown whether or not the abuser, who is originally from the Philippines and emigrated in 2002, had a working with children's check.
It is also not known how many other children he cared for and whether other parents had been notified.
The girl's mother says she's now in a constant state of guilt.
'I blame myself for what happened … The anxiety, the helplessness, the fear that I failed her is like running a marathon I never signed up for. And it never ends,' she told the court, as per the publication.
The man will spend a minimum of nine years and nine months in jail and will be required to do a sex offenders treatment program.
He will also appear on the sex offenders registry for the rest of his life.
The Melbourne suburb has been in the headlines recently after the alleged daycare abuses of Joshua Dale Brown, 26.
Brown, a childcare worker, was charged in May with more than 70 offences including sexual activity in presence of a child under 16, sexual assault of a child under 16 and possessing child abuse material.
STI testing is underway of about 2000 children as part of the police investigation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
27 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Pig farm horror ‘on another level'
In a disturbing development to an ongoing story involving the alleged mistreatment of hundreds of pigs at a farm in South Australia, the RSPCA has ordered more than a dozen creatures be euthanised. The Andgar Piggery, located near the small regional town of Dublin, SA, has become the centre of widespread controversy since a dossier of photos, videos and documents revealed the shocking conditions being experienced by pigs at the farm. Pigs were observed in various states of decay when activists broke in and began recording. Supplied Credit: Supplied Released in June by the Farm Transparency Project (FTP), a Melbourne-based activist group, the huge catalogue of photos depicts animals living – and dying – in squalor. Footage shows animals consuming the remains of their dead littermates as other exhausted creatures wade through thick muck, which FTP chief executive Chris Delforce said was 'up to their stomachs, at least, if not higher'. 'Just seeing the pigs wading through their own filth … I've been investigating piggeries for 13 years or so now, and it's always a pretty horrific experience … but this place in particular, I think, was kind of on another level,' he said. RSPCA South Australia released a statement on Tuesday that said its investigation into the Andgar piggery was 'progressing'. 'RSPCA inspectorate officers accompanied by PIRSA veterinary staff have conducted two raids of the piggery and 14 pigs have been euthanised,' a spokesman said. Some of the more distressing pictures featured an animal with a severe, necrotic wound about 10cm wide and deep enough to hold a pile of dirt. Supplied Credit: Supplied 'The RSPCA has issued 21 animal welfare notices instructing the owners and manager to take immediate action regarding conditions and maintenance. They must maintain compliance and the inspectorate is monitoring the operation with spot inspections.' The RSPCA said the farm's owners had been formally interviewed as part of a 'large and highly complex' investigation, and it is 'now preparing a comprehensive brief of evidence with a view to instigate court proceedings'. 'The RSPCA South Australia is empowered to investigate animal cruelty and enforce animal welfare legislation in our state. In addition to issuing animal welfare notices, we can also lay criminal charges,' the spokesman said. 'We acknowledge the distress and concern these images have caused and we want to assure the community that we take any allegation of animal cruelty extremely seriously.' Despite these comments, Mr Delforce claimed the RSPCA was approached by a whistleblower well before the FTP infiltrated the property. Protesters turned up to the piggery on Saturday in their dozens to condemn the conditions and call for change. Supplied Credit: Supplied In screenshots shared to Facebook on Thursday, FTP advertised segments of the anonymous whistleblower's claims that their partner – somebody who regularly attended the pig farm – 'would come home traumatised by some of the cruelty and lack of maintenance and care of animals'. Mr Delforce said the RSPCA was alerted 'a month before' activists arrived at the farm and accused it of allowing 'unchecked, unmonitored, unaddressed' cruelty to proliferate. 'It seems the RSPCA is not adequately resourced or funded or motivated to go and inspect these places on their own,' he said 'They are the authority that has been legally assigned to investigate and prosecute cruelty issues in animal farms, and if they're not doing it, nobody else is doing it.' FTP chief executive Chris Delforce said the Andgar Piggery had already been flagged to the RSPCA by a whistleblower, but he said no action was taken in the first instance. Supplied Credit: Supplied One of Andgar's co-owners spoke to NewsWire earlier this month, saying the piggery was struggling because it 'went from four workers to one' and 'no one wants to work'. 'Of course the piggery's never been like that. For all the years we've run pigs, they've never been like that. It's just all of a sudden, you've got no workers,' he said. Mr Delforce believes the state and federal government have failed to provide 'any support for farmers who want to get out of this industry'. 'I think he should have made the decision to shut down … it's not an excuse to have pigs drowning in their own waste just because you can't get employees, so stop breeding them,' he said. The South Australian government declined to comment on the ongoing RSPCA investigation. In South Australia, those found guilty of animal cruelty offences can be fined up to $250,000 and/or receive a maximum 10 years in jail.
News.com.au
27 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Needs to change': Thousands support Speak Up for Kids campaign after childcare abuse exposed
Thousands of Aussies are jumping on board a new petition demanding an urgent safety overhaul to our early childcare industry, after exposed yet another alarming case of widescale sexual abuse within a family day care service. This morning exclusively revealed the horrifying case of David Neil Tuck: a family day care owner who is suspected of sexually abusing up to 55 children in Batemans Bay alone. Tuck had already been charged with 10 counts of child sexual abuse in NSW when Eurobodalla Shire Council licenced him to operate a family day care service run out of his remote property on Bluemoor road in Batemans Bay. Tuck, who also operated two other childcare facilities in the region, was able to continue running his licensed service despite multiple additional children coming forward to authorities with complaints of sexual abuse at his centres. Laura-Jane Singh (LJ) and Hailey* were just seven and five years old when they were first sexually abused by Tuck at his overnight child care centre. The women, who have tracked down around 30 other survivors of Tuck, are now using their experience as a platform to push for national reform to Australia's Working With Children Check scheme. More than 5000 people have already jumped on board to sign their petition, which launched just a few hours ago. 'What could be more important than protecting our children?' wrote one signee named Tarek. 'Stop protecting child predators. We need to do everything possible to keep our kids safe. This isn't just for people who have kids, we were all kids once. Give every child a voice, and sign now.' 'What are our politicians doing here? Working with Children Checks are totally useless and a joke,' wrote Valerie. 'This needs to be changed now. We know there's a problem, there's no excuse to leave it any longer,' added Sarah. According to the petition, more than one million Australian families currently have at least one child attending a registered childcare service. And alarmingly, every day there is at least one report of sexual misconduct coming out of a child care facility in this country. 'The children who are impacted are far too young to speak. As adults, we must use our voices to demand their safety,' reads the petition. The campaign is titled Speak Up for Kids and is calling for an overhaul to Australia's widely derided Working With Children Check (WWWC) scheme. The campaign has the backing of experts, advocates, academics, and survivors. One issue of concern is that each state and territory has an entirely different WWCC scheme with its own legislation, operating system, eligibility criteria, and administrative processes. According to the petition, this creates 'inconsistency, confusion and loopholes which offenders can easily exploit'. The fragmented approach also leads to poor information sharing between the various states and territories and offenders who move between jurisdictions can then easily evade detection. Another concern is that once a WWCC is issued, it is valid for five years with no interim monitoring. As a result, families can be lulled into a false sense of security, particularly since complaints that don't result in criminal charges may not necessarily be enough to trigger the high threshold for action. Currently more than 5.8 million people in Australia hold a valid WWCC and no training or exam is required to get one. 'Children need to be protected from these mongrel predators, it's abhorrent what they do to the kids let alone the psychological damage they cause,' wrote Colin who signed the petition. 'Why isn't there a national database for convicted offenders? Each state doesn't talk to each other and an offender can be convicted in Queensland and then move to NSW and their offence will not follow them. This is ludicrous,' added another signee, Kerry. 'Our youngest and most vulnerable voices in society need to be heard RIGHT NOW! To the lawmakers and lawbreakers, how can you sleep at night knowing that your actions and inaction have destroyed innocent lives? Enough is enough!' wrote one individual who signed off 'L'. The petition is calling for a suite of reforms including national harmonisation of legislation and standards across all jurisdictions; the establishment of a centralised WWCC database to facilitate cross-border information sharing; a one strike policy for breaches; increased monitoring of WWCC holders; and finally a $2 million government investment to develop mandatory training which would then become a compulsory component for all WWCC holders. 'Do this now. My next vote depends on it,' wrote Jason. 'I 100 per cent support the petition,' added Peter. 'It chills me to the bone that this could happen in our society. Let's get these monsters away from our children.' 'How on earth we are not already doing absolutely everything to protect our children,' added Alan. LJ and Hailey have been incredibly moved with the response so far and hope more people continue to join the fight. The women, who are now both mothers, say they are speaking out on behalf of all children - including the little girls they once were. 'As children we were defenceless. We did not have the language and we were too young to understand - let alone speak out about - the sexual abuse we were experiencing in childcare,' wrote the women. 'Now we are raising our voices for all those children who can't. We were not safe. But we hope that your children will be. 'Australia, please sign this urgent petition. All children deserve safety. The time for action is now.' Nina Funnell is a Walkley award winning journalist who specialises in reporting sexual violence. She is the creator of the Speak Up for Kids campaign.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Going to bash me': Man involved in Paul Kent brawl claims self defence
A man who was involved in a wild brawl with Paul Kent has told a court that he was afraid the rugby league journalist and commentator was going to 'bash' him during a now-infamous incident outside a Sydney restaurant. Tamer Uzun, 37, on Monday appeared in Manly Local Court for a hearing after pleading not guilty to one count of affray stemming from his altercation with Kent outside Totti's Rozelle in April last year. In footage which quickly went viral on social media, Kent pushed past several people before trading blows with Mr Uzun on the public street, with the fight ending when Kent was thrown into a tree. The prosecution has argued Mr Uzun threw punches and failed to de-escalate the incident when he continued to trade verbal barbs with Kent and took off his jumper. Police prosecutor Sergeant Adrian Walsh told the court on Monday that Mr Uzun threw punches before grabbing and throwing Kent into a tree. However Mr Uzun's solicitor Bryan Wrench told the court his client was acting in self defence. He said that Mr Uzun, who was sober at the time, was wrongly accused of making comments towards Kent. 'Mr Kent is the person provoking the incident and our client has had to defend himself,' Mr Wrench told the court. Mr Wrench told the court that a 'thoroughly intoxicated' Kent had consumed 21 beers over 11 hours at the nearby Sackville Hotel and was walking home at the time of the confrontation. Mr Uzun told the court on Monday that he was at the popular restaurant for a birthday and was waiting outside for his partner. Video played to the court showed Kent and another man walking past but they doubled back and accused Uzun and his friend of 's---potting' him. In court on Monday, Mr Uzun denied that either he or his friend made a comment to provoke Kent. 'At the start I thought it was a joke,' Mr Uzun told the court. 'I didn't know what he was talking about, we were laughing about the accusations.' Mr Uzun said he told Kent to 'f--k off' and 'keep going'. He said that backed up as Kent was 'swearing and carrying on'. Mr Uzun told the court that Kent took off his watch and pushed past several people to ignite the brawl. Asked what his state of mind was at that point, Mr Uzun said: 'This bloke's going to bash me.' He said he attempted to strike Kent as the brawl spilled onto the roadway. 'And that's when he ended upside down in the tree,' Mr Uzun said. He said that he was crash tackled into the gutter by a man who was with Kent. When he got up, Mr Uzun told the court that Kent abused him again and spat at him. He told the court that he went back into the restaurant, asked for the manager and requested they preserve CCTV footage. He suffered bruises on his neck and head and grazes on his shoulder. Sgt Walsh told the court that Uzun 'beckoned' Kent and moved towards him on a number of occasions despite the presence of a security guard. 'I didn't want a fight,' Mr Uzun told the court. He also asked him why he had taken off his jumper and handed it to his friend and had not walked back into the restaurant. 'That was you throwing Mr Kent into a tree,' Sgt Walsh asked. 'Push Mr Kent away,' Mr Uzun replied. 'You agree it was more of a throw,' Sgt Walsh asked. 'A bit of both,' Mr Uzun said. The hearing before Magistrate Michael Blair continues. Kent in July last year failed in his bid to have a one charge of affray dealt with on mental health grounds before he pleaded guilty. Kent did not have a conviction recorded against him and he was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond. He departed Fox Sports and The Daily Telegraph following the incident.
