A childcare worker in Australia has been accused by police of sexually abusing 91 young girls over a period of 15 years, as disclosed on Tuesday.
The police described the alleged crimes as ‘unfathomable’ and noted that the suspect had recorded these abhorrent acts in thousands of photos and videos.
‘I know this news will seem unfathomable, and I know there will be many questions,’ said assistant federal police commissioner Justine Gough.
‘There is not much solace I can give to the parents and children who have been identified,’ she added.
Australian detectives, who have significant experience in handling such cases, have labelled this child sex abuse investigation as one of the most appalling and horrifying they have encountered, going so far as to say it is ‘beyond the realms of anyone’s imagination.’
Since the discovery of a collection of child pornography shared on the dark web in 2014, investigators have been diligently searching for the 45-year-old man involved in the case.
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Until an unexpected breakthrough in August last year, their efforts had yielded little results. However, they finally made progress by identifying visual clues in the background of the images that led them to a childcare centre in the city of Brisbane.
At first, the man faced just three charges, but the severity of his “heinous” alleged crimes became evident as the police conducted a thorough investigation of his computer, phone, and hard drive.
‘This is chilling and shocking news for parents,’ she said.
Based on investigations, the police have reason to believe that the man captured visual evidence of ‘all’ his alleged crimes, leading to a staggering compilation of more than 4,000 photos and videos showing the abusive acts.
‘It’s beyond the realms of anyone’s imagination what this person did to these children,’ he said.
‘I can only say, you try not to be shocked after a long period of time in the police, but this is a horrific case.’
According to New South Wales assistant police commissioner Michael Fitzgerald, this is one of the most horrific cases he has ever encountered.