Accused Gold Coast childcare pedophile was reported for ‘kissing’ little girl as whistleblower breaks her silence
- Yolunda Borucki ran some centers where suspects worked
- She said she complained about him to the police
A child care worker accused of sexually assaulting 91 young girls was reported in 2021 by a newly hired colleague who allegedly saw him “kissing” a sleeping child, a whistleblower has revealed.
The 45-year-old man has been charged with more than 1,600 crimes allegedly committed between 2007 and 2022 at centers in Queensland, NSW and abroad.
Yolanda Borucki, a manager of a chain of day care centers where the man worked in senior positions for three years, told A Current Affair that she raised concerns with Queensland police a year before his arrest last August.
Ms. Borucki explained that the accused man often took some children outside to an outdoor playground.
“Apparently he organized — I didn’t witness this, I was just told — some activities for them to learn and he would put a blanket over this area,” Ms. Borucki said.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough (pictured) announced that a 45-year-old man has been charged with 1,623 offenses against 91 young girls
“They (had) put some mats under the fort for when the kids were climbing and if they decided they want to take a nap, they can lie down under the fort,” she said.
Ms Borucki explained that in October 2021, a newly hired member of staff told her she had looked into the ‘fortress’ and reportedly witnessed the man kneeling over a sleeping girl and ‘kissing’ her.
The notification was in writing. We have submitted this to the police.’
Ms Borucki, a 59-year-old grandmother, said a written complaint was immediately sent to Queensland Police and the man was withdrawn on full pay while they investigated.
She also informed the girl’s parents of the allegation, saying they were skeptical as they were close to the man and had a high opinion of him.
Ms Borucki said the man was eventually cleared of the charge because there was ‘no evidence’.
Queensland Police said on Friday they did not search the man’s home or digital devices during that investigation.
Ms Borucki said the man’s explanation was that: “This person couldn’t see very clearly under the fort because it’s a pretty (a) dark space, and he didn’t kiss the girl, he just whispered in her ear to wake her up. because (her) mother doesn’t want her to sleep too long.’
Yolanda Borucki ran a chain of childcare centers where the accused had worked for three years and said she had written a complaint to the police but they had acquitted him
Under Queensland law, a single educator may be alone with children over the age of three as long as they follow the ‘ratio’ of one educator to 11 children, with the law being similar in other states and territories.
When the man returned from suspension, Ms. Borucki said parents at the center seemed pleased, with one mother even saying she would buy him a box of chocolates and other parents emailing her to complain that she was trying to get rid of the teacher To hit.
The member of staff who made the accusation was “devastated” and resigned, she said.
Ms Borucki added that she had her own ‘gut feeling’ about the man after an incident she allegedly witnessed.
“He was talking to me and there was also an HR person with me and a little girl stood up in front of him and he rubbed her arm,” Burucki said.
“And during the conversation I just noticed that he really kissed her on the forehead.”
She confronted the man the next day saying the behavior was unprofessional and he immediately apologized claiming the center was “really close” and “like a family”.
The AFP acknowledged that the community would be “upset” by their accusations
Borucki said she wanted the man out of her center but the human resources department was concerned that he would go to Fair Work Australia as there were no findings against him.
After unsuccessful attempts to get the man out, he was fired four months after the police investigation cleared him.
A month later, in October 2022, she received a call from the AFP to say the man was in jail and they needed to collect some files.
The AFP had been led to the man after they traced bedding in the background of a video that appeared on the dark web in 2014 to a daycare center in Brisbane where the man had worked.
AFP agents reportedly found 4,000 images on his devices when they arrested him, leading to the identification of the alleged 91 victims.
He is due to appear in court later in August.