David Williams James: Mum of son abused by childcare worked speaks of ‘horror and fear’
A mother has told a court of the ‘horror and fear’ she felt when discovering her child had been abused by a childcare worker.
WARNING: Distressing content
The mother of a child abused by a childcare worker says she will “forever wonder” if her son was “trying to tell me something”.In a harrowing victim impact statement read on her behalf in Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, the woman detailed the “horror and fear” she felt when she discovered he had been abused
David William James admitted to a raft of child abuse offences against children aged as young as five at out-of-school hours (OOSH) care centres across Sydney between 2021 and 2024.
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The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 charges last December, including using a child under 14 to make child abuse material, filming a sexual act with a child under the age of 16 for abuse material, and possessing and producing child abuse material.
The mother of one of his victims told the court of the “surreal” moment the Australian Federal Police asked her to identify articles of clothing in a photograph that belonged to her son and how the police were unable to give her any further information about the abuse until a non-publication order had been lifted.
“(There was a) mix of horror and fear when we were finally informed of what Mr James had done,” the woman said.
She said she woke up most nights wondering if the abuse identified by the police was “really all that happened”.
“There is no escape or way to move forward,” she told the court.
“I wonder if my son will recall something someday and what this will do to him.
“My son was innocent, he was a little boy who deserved to feel safe.
“(I will) forever wonder if he was trying to tell me something more at the time and I misread the signs.”
She and her husband now finish work early every day to pick their son up and take time off on school holidays to care for him.The woman told the court of how school camps and swimming lessons were now “weighted with what could happen”.
“What is worse than knowing what this man has done is feeling responsible for his actions,” she said.
“The guilt you feel in leaving (your children) to go to work is only eased by assuring yourself that they are safe … Mr James’s actions has stolen this from me.”
She told the court that every day was filled with triggers and reminders that she “can’t escape from”, with the woman wanting to scream “children are not safe” when she sees the OOSH staff.
Mr James did not react as the statement was read out, with the 26-year-old beamed into the courtroom via an audiovisual link from custody.
More to come
Young people seeking support can phone beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or go to headspace.org.au.
Lifeline: 13 11 14.
