A homosexual paedophile ex-cop childcare worker has been jailed for sexually abusing nine young children at six after-school centres in Sydney.
David William James, 28, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment with a seven-year non-parole period by NSW District Court Judge Guy Newton on Thursday, after previously pleading guilty to 11 child sex charges.
They included four counts of using a child under 14 years to make child abuse material, three counts of doing and filming a sexual act with a child to create abuse material, four counts of producing or possessing child abuse material, and failing to provide device passwords to police.
James, who attended prestigious private school Knox Grammar and was working as a NSW Police officer at the time of some of his offending, preyed on boys in his care aged five to nine years old between 2021 and 2024, Newswire reported.
He was eventually caught after posting a photo of a child taken in public on the dark web, and has been in custody since his arrest in October 2024, meaning he could be released in just five years and three months.
Judge Newton said in sentencing that “in each case the offender was the child’s carer” and that the “breach of trust and authority in the present case was egregious”.
“James has led a dual life, one in private and one in public,” he said.
“In the community [he] was a pro-social young man who had actively pursued a career in policing, was well-engaged with others and was self-confident. However, in private [he] harboured deviant sexual interests … consistent with paedophilia.”
The judge said he accepted James had a paedophilic disorder, and noted he once called a hotline, showing he was aware he had a problem.
But he also found James was remorseful, had indicated a willingness to be treated for his disorder, and took special circumstances into account in sentencing after hearing James had experienced hardship in custody.
The court heard that after police managed to gain access to James’ electronic devices they found 22 child abuse images and videos of victims known to James, recorded during his shifts at the day care centres.
The centres involved were Helping Hands – St Ives Public School, Helping Hands – Lane Cove West, Pyrmont OSHC – City of Sydney, OSHClub – Barker College, and St Ives OSHC Centre – KIDZONE, and James worked at another 52 centres where police believe no offending took place.
Judge Newton also read from impact statements written by parents of some of the victims, including one from a mother who said she is racked by guilt and no longer leaves her children in after-school care, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“As a consequence of this man, I no longer consider any person or place safe,” she wrote.
“I struggle to reconcile the idea that my children are safe anywhere other than with me or my husband.”
Header image: Left, David William James in 2015 (Facebook). Right, caught on CCTV a week before his arrest (NSW District Court).
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