Fresh appeal to identify alleged Sydney childcare abuse victims

Authorities have launched a fresh appeal in their attempt to identify victims of a Sydney childcare worker who allegedly abused more than 130 children.Hamish Tait is facing 329 charges related to the alleged abuse of the children over a 16-year period.His charges include 162 counts of producing child abuse material, 81 counts of filming a person engaged in a private act without consent and 24 counts of using a child under 14 years for the production of child abuse material.The alleged offending is said to have occurred between 2009 and 2025.The matter remains before the courts.Last week the Australian Federal Police (AFP) released de-identified images of clothing to assist with victim identification.The images were found on electronic devices seized as part of the investigation under Operation Moonbi.Hamish Tait faces 329 charges related to the alleged abuse of children over a 16-year period. (Supplied)On Friday, the AFP launched an additional call-out where they confirmed two children pictured in images taken at a Rouse Hill childcare centre were already known to detectives.The AFP is still trying to identify the child pictured wearing a two-tone t-shirt, taken from behind the child at a Putney childcare centre about January 9, 2018.Additionally, police wished to identify a male child whose image was located on electronic devices seized as part of the investigation.The images were taken sometime between March 2020 and July 2025.The image of the two-toned shirt is believed to have been taken at a Putney childcare centre. (Supplied: AFP)The child could be seen wearing Bluey-branded underwear and appeared to have a distinctive freckle or mole on their body. The AFP said they would not release the images in question for sensitivity reasons, but hoped the description would spark recognition among parents or caregivers.'Any clue may assist', says detectiveAFP Detective Acting Inspector Emmanuel Tsardoulias urged anyone in the community with information to assist by speaking with authorities."We appreciate the information shared with the community may appear limited, however, any clue may assist with victim identification," he said."Please consider the dates, locations and descriptions."Last week, Acting Inspector Tsardoulias said officers had received over 300 calls during the operation period.The AFP previously said Mr Tait had either worked at or attended 62 childcare centres over the course of his career, but believe his alleged offending occurred at four centres in Sydney and at his own early education business, Wild Earthlings in Glenorie.Police have established a website under Operation Moonbi which includes a list of the 55 childcare centres where Mr Tait worked at or attended between 2009 and 2025, predominantly in Sydney's north-west.The ABC understands several centres have been removed from the list over the past few days after detectives confirmed that Mr Tait had no access to children during brief visits, which often focused on speaking to staff.