SYDNEY: Doctors urged that 1,200 Australian children get tested for infectious diseases on Tuesday (July 1) after police charged a former daycare worker with dozens of "deeply distressing" sex crimes.
Victoria police said a 26-year-old man had been charged with more than 70 crimes stemming from alleged sexual assaults against eight children aged between five months and two years old.
"As you could imagine this was deeply distressing for the families to hear," police commander Janet Stevenson told reporters.
The man worked at 20 nursery schools across the city of Melbourne between 2017 and 2025, Stevenson said.
State chief health officer Christian McGrath said 1,200 children who may have come into contact with the accused should be tested for "potential exposure" to infectious diseases.
Authorities did not specify which diseases the children may have been exposed to but said they could be easily treated with antibiotics.
"We do understand that this is another distressing element to this situation," McGrath, an infectious diseases physician, told reporters.
State Premier Jacinta Allan said she was "sickened" by the man's alleged crimes.
"They are shocking and distressing," she told reporters.
"And my heart just breaks for the families who are living every parent's worst nightmare." - AFP
