A Sydney out-of-school-hours care worker has been accused of producing child abuse material involving 10 children aged five and six.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Artarmon man David James was charged by Australian Federal Police (AFP) in October and remains in custody, but his identity has been suppressed until now.<\/p>\n
Last month, the AFP revealed it had sent letters to parents and carers whose children may have had contact with Mr James, as part of the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n
If you or anyone you know needs help:<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old worked with children at out-of-school-hours care centres in Sydney’s northern suburbs and the CBD, but investigators believed his alleged behaviour involved “a very small number of children”.<\/p>\n
He has been charged with more than a dozen offences, including 10 counts of using a child under the age of 14 to make child abuse material and two counts of possessing child abuse material.<\/p>\n
Acting Assistant Commissioner Brett James said the man allegedly took “explicit photos” of 10 children aged between five and six over a three-year period.<\/p>\n
These photos were allegedly taken between 2021 and 2024.<\/p>\n
All of the impacted families have been contacted by the AFP and NSW Health.<\/p>\n
Investigators went through every image and video on the man’s phones, computers and storage devices.<\/p>\n
“In all we had to examine 42,000 files on his devices, or 18.9 gigabytes,” the acting assistant commissioner said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Brett James said the wellbeing of the alleged victims was a priority for investigators. (ABC News: Jamie McKinnell)<\/p>\n
He said not all of the material was of child abuse, but “it shows the effort to go through every single file”.<\/p>\n
“I’m not going to go into the detail of that material just out of respect for the victims,” he said.<\/p>\n
Effort to lift suppression order<\/p>\n
Mr James’s identity had previously been suppressed under strict court orders that were first obtained by prosecutors last year as the police investigation continued.<\/p>\n
Those orders were extended in March and were due to expire this evening.<\/p>\n
Mr James’s lawyer wanted them extended again today \u2014 at least on an interim basis \u2014 to protect his safety due to the “nature” of the charges.<\/p>\n
She told Deputy Chief Magistrate Michael Antrum she had received only “very brief” instructions from him and needed more time.<\/p>\n
“Mr James is in custody,” the deputy chief magistrate replied.<\/p>\n
“His safety is a matter for Corrective Services.”<\/p>\n
Mr James did not appear on screen in court.<\/p>\n
A lawyer representing the Sydney Morning Herald, Larina Alick, argued it could reasonably be inferred that the original purpose of the orders had been served, rendering them no longer necessary.<\/p>\n
Deputy Chief Magistrate Antrum ruled they should be revoked immediately.<\/p>\n
He said when a court makes suppression orders under the relevant act, it must take into account that a primary objective of the administration of justice is to safeguard the public interest in open justice.<\/p>\n
“It is submitted the nature of the offences mean the safety of the defendant and other persons, although those persons are unidentified, may be at risk,” Deputy Chief Magistrate Antrum said.<\/p>\n
“I have no evidence to suggest that at this stage.”<\/p>\n
Victim identification a ‘painstaking’ task<\/p>\n
The AFP said Mr James was identified after officers received a report from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation regarding material on the dark web in June 2024.<\/p>\n
Police said Mr James was originally charged with refusing officers access to his phone in September last year.<\/p>\n
After they gained access and reviewed its contents, police said, he was charged with child abuse offences in October.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the AFP released a list of 58 centres and school facilities that Mr James worked at between 2018 to 2024 across Sydney.<\/p>\n
Police believe the alleged offences occurred at six of the 58 facilities, with “no evidence” to suggest anything occurred at the remaining 52.<\/p>\n