A 45-year-old Australian childcare worker has been charged with committing over 1,600 child sexual abuse offenses against 91 young girls, including some as young as one year old. The charges include 136 counts of rape, 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, and 613 counts of producing child sex abuse material.

The crimes were committed at 10 different childcare centers in Brisbane, Sydney, and overseas between 2007 and 2022. The perpetrator, who has not been named by police, was arrested in August 2021 after child abuse material was discovered on the dark web in 2014.

The investigation was hampered by a lack of evidence until visual clues in the background of the images led authorities to a childcare center in Brisbane. Authorities have been working to identify the victims and have so far identified 87 of the 91 girls, who are all from New South Wales or Queensland.

The remaining four victims were abused while the perpetrator worked overseas between 2013 and 2014. Police are now working with international authorities to locate these children. The accused will face court in Queensland on August 21 and will subsequently be extradited to New South Wales to face further charges.

Assistant federal police commissioner Justine Gough described the case as "deeply distressing" and "unfathomable," while New South Wales assistant police commissioner Michael Fitzgerald called it one of the most horrific child abuse cases he had ever seen.