In a shocking development, a former Australian police officer turned school care staffer is facing charges of producing child abuse material. As many as ten child abuse materials were retrieved from the accused, identified as 26-year-old David James, who reportedly worked in 58 different educational institutions for children across Sydney. However, Australian media reports have confirmed that it is highly unlikely that several children fell prey to his actions.
A native of Sydney’s Artarmon, David James was charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in October and remains in custody. He was initially arrested for refusing to provide officers with the password to unlock his smartphone. Once the officers were able to access the files, they discovered the extent of the alleged crimes. The AFP team stated that the materials were created between 2021 and 2024.
It was in 2024 that James was found with child abuse material on his digital device. He is accused of making child abuse material of 10 children, aged between five and six. James became a before- and after-school care worker in 2018 and was associated with 58 after-school and vacation care services across Sydney. From December 2021 to September 2022, James was a probationary constable in the New South Wales Police Department.
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The revelations are only coming to light now due to a court-ordered media silence.
James has been charged with 13 offences, including nine counts of aggravated use of a child under 14 to make child abuse material; one count of using a child under 14 to make child abuse material; two counts of possessing child abuse material; and one count of contravening a warrant. According to a report by the ABC, he is accused of taking “explicit photos” of his victims over a period of three years.
Once they found objectionable files on James’s phone, the investigation team painstakingly went through every file on his digital devices, including phones, computers, and additional storage devices. The police revealed that they checked as many as 42,000 files on his devices, amounting to 18.9 gigabytes. A police spokesperson said that they would not provide further details on the nature of the materials found out of respect for the survivors and their parents.
