Childcare worker charged with torture of baby boy in Queensland centre

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A Queensland childcare worker has been charged with torturing and repeatedly assaulting a one-year-old baby boy. A warning: this story contains descriptions of alleged child abuse

Transcript

00:00So what the centre observed was a one-year-old boy was repeatedly smothered into a mattress

00:09and a pillow.

00:10He was thrown across a room, a playpen was thrown at him, he was kicked.

00:17Some of the most terrible things allegedly happened to that little boy.

00:22And you've spoken to members of the family, what have they had to say?

00:25So members of the family said that their life has been completely turned upside down.

00:30When the little boy came home he was covered in bruises.

00:34They asked the centre what had happened and they were brushed off.

00:37It was only when the police called them and said that charges had been laid they started

00:42to uncover what had gone on.

00:45Is it unusual in a case like this that a charge involving an allegation of torture has come

00:50up?

00:51Yeah, it is very unusual.

00:52I think it was because of the repeated nature of it because this happened over a number

00:57of days in August and September.

00:59So that's why the police decided to use torture and assault.

01:03And this is the latest in a long list of incidences that have arisen particularly just over the

01:09past six months many of which you've reported on.

01:13What does this indicate about the state of childcare in Australia?

01:17It indicates that the childcare sector is in a complete crisis and urgent reform is required.

01:26Greens Senator Abigail Boyd has called for a Royal Commission and she's running a parliamentary

01:30inquiry in New South Wales which kicks off in the next couple of weeks.

01:35And what's the regulator saying in relation to this case?

01:38The regulator is saying that they've taken action and it is open for review.

01:42We sent them a long list of questions which they didn't answer, that's the only response

01:47we got.

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