Hamish Tait, a daycare worker in Sydney, has been accused of 329 child abuse offences involving 136 children over a span of 16 years. The alleged incidents occurred at five different childcare facilities, including four centers and a private business Tait operated, primarily in Sydney's north-west.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) stated that the charges include 22 counts of aggravated use of a child under 14 years for the production of child abuse material and 18 counts of intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 years. AFP Acting Commander Luke Needham described the alleged offenses as "confronting and horrific," particularly given the perpetrator's trusted role in caring for children.
Police first connected Tait to illegal online activity in June of the previous year. A subsequent raid on a property in Glossodia, near Sydney, resulted in the seizure of electronic devices containing child abuse material. The AFP has launched a website to identify the facilities where Tait worked and to offer support to affected families.
This case follows a series of concerning allegations at Australian daycare centers in recent years. In 2024, Ashley Paul Griffith confessed to 307 offenses committed at childcare centers in Queensland and overseas over two decades. The previous year, Joshua Dale Brown was charged with dozens of child abuse offenses allegedly committed at four daycare centers in Victoria, prompting a public health alert for over 1,200 children to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.