Then in January this year, Quoc Phu Tong, 35, pleaded guilty to touching a young boy on the groin and bottom over the boy’s clothes in September last year at a daycare centre on Sydney’s northern beaches.
All of these cases have raised serious questions for parents around Australia desperately worried about the safety of their children.
Access to early education childcare is a key plank of the Albanese government’s federal agenda and something most working parents both need and are encouraged to use. But leaving your beloved child in the care of a stranger is also one of the biggest fears parents face – and these recent cases show the dangers of what can go wrong in the worst-case scenario.
It’s worth pointing out the vast majority of children in care are well looked after and gain important social and educational benefits.
But while the allegations against accused persons such as Brown are yet to be tested in the courts, the recent spate of convictions shows there are bad people who deliberately use centres as a way to access innocent children who are vulnerable to abuse.
There are several areas of concern: the first is the obvious inadequacy of the vetting system, despite state-based working with children checks in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Secondly, there are questions about the use of casual workers in the sector, who can move about at ease and escape proper supervision.
Thirdly, many parents are asking why centres allow workers one-on-one access to their children without other people being present.
Finally, there is the vexed question of whether male early childcare educators should be subject to extra supervision, or even be employed in the first place. Of course, both of these options are unfair to the vast majority of male workers, who do a terrific job and wouldn’t dream of abusing a child in their care. But some parents are quietly deciding they just don’t want to take the risk.
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