Emily Baker and Lila Harris/ABC News
The devastated parents of a child abused by disgraced childcare worker David James are calling for urgent reform to the out-of-school-hours (OOSH) care system to better protect children.
Michelle, whose name has been changed to prevent the identification of a child victim of crime, was at a theme park interstate in 2024 with her then six-year-old when she received an urgent phone call from police asking if she could check her son’s back for freckles.
“I just knew the police had found a picture of my son,” she said.
She was next asked to personally identify the child in the photo with her ex-husband Ian, whose name has also been changed — a sickening moment the pair will never forget.
“I actually didn’t even cry when I first saw it because I was just really numb, just in complete disbelief that anything like that could happen,”
Michelle said.
“You know, you hear about it happening to other people and you always think you’ll be the exception.”
James was last week sentenced to 12 years in prison with a non-parole period of seven years after pleading guilty to 11 charges related to the production and possession of child abuse material.
Parents call for raft of reforms
Michelle and Ian have chosen to speak out to encourage other parents to talk with their children about body safety and to call for changes to the OOSH system.
“I wish that I could turn back time and that I had a more proactive conversation with [my son], and I wish other parents would do this as well,” Michelle said.
In the wake of the distressing sexual abuse allegations against a childcare worker in Melbourne, many parents are feeling anxious. Here’s how to talk to your kids about body safety.
“Like never be alone with an adult, never let them take a picture of you on their phone, if they say, ‘Don’t tell your parents something’, you should tell your parents and tell them, ‘I’m going to tell my parents because no adult can ask me to keep a secret from my parents’.”
The parents want mandatory CCTV in blind spots at centres, a minimum of two workers on each shift (the current policy is one for every 15 children over preschool age), and a ban on male educators.
The latter proposal was last year shut down by Federal Education Minister Jason Clare as “not … the solution”, noting most people in the sector were “good, honest people”.
NSW Education and Early Learning Minister Prue Car said in a statement the state government had acted to safeguard children, including introducing a new independent regulator and banning mobile phones in centres.
NSW is also part of a national trial of CCTV in early childhood education and care centres, which is due to report back to education ministers in October this year.
“We are continuing to look at ways we can further improve the system and ensure parents can be confident their children will be safe and well cared for, whether they are at day care, preschool or OOSH,” Ms Car said.
Parents lose trust in legal system
Ian said the previously-announced childcare reforms did not go far enough.
“All of these changes won’t stop people like David James in the future … if he’s going to that length to take photos to put his own life at risk by committing the most horrendous crimes, what does he care that the government says no phones,” he said.
Michelle and Ian said they had lost trust in police and court systems after their experience, describing communication from police as unresponsive and James’s sentence as grossly inadequate. The Australian Federal Police declined to comment.
The pair’s trust in other people has also been badly shaken.
They want responsible adults, including teachers and educators, to speak with children in an age-appropriate way about the safe behaviours they should expect from the grown-ups in their lives.
“I think until we have better reform, better preventative measures, better punishments in place, unfortunately, the most proactive thing you can do is to teach your kids,” Michelle said.
