Identity of Sydney daycare worker facing 329 child abuse offences revealed
Hamish Tait, a 35‑year‑old former childcare worker, has officially been named by Australian Federal Police (AFP) in a case involving 329 alleged offences of child sexual abuse.
Tait was first arrested in July last year but his name was only released after a court order lifted the anonymity that had shielded him while investigators attempted to identify victims and contact families.
The charges cover 162 counts of producing child abuse material and 81 counts of secretly filming a child without consent. Additional charges note aggravated use of a child under 14 for producing abuse material and intentionally touching a child under 10.
Police say they first linked Tait to illegal online activity in June, then seized child‑abuse images from electronic devices confiscated during a raid in Glossodia, just outside Sydney.
Tait’s alleged offending is believed to have taken place at five facilities – four childcare centres and his own private business – with his work largely centred in Sydney’s north‑west.
The AFP have established an Operation Moonbi website to list the centres he worked at and resource families affected by the crime.
The case arrives amid recent Australian investigations: Ashley Paul Griffith’s 307‑offence confession, and Joshua Dale Brown’s charges against 1,200 Victorian children who were subsequently tested for STIs.
AFP Acting Commander Luke Needham: "Any form of child sexual abuse is confronting and horrific, especially when the perpetrator is a trusted caregiver."
