How investigators tracked down Sydney childcare paedophile

How police linked Sydney childcare worker David James to dark web posts Wed 17 Jun 2026 at 11:22am In short: Court documents have revealed police located a Sydney childcare worker within a week of him posting pictures of minors to the dark web. David William James was unmasked by police to be behind the online moniker "Remy", who uploaded several images of children online in 2024. What's next? James has pleaded guilty to 11 offences and is due to be sentenced in the District Court next month. Investigators were knocking on the door of a disgraced Sydney childcare worker within a week of him posting images of children on the darknet after identifying the user through metadata and CCTV, court documents have revealed. David William James, who is awaiting sentence next month, has told a judge in a handwritten letter that he is "deeply ashamed" and "truly sorry" after pleading guilty to 11 offences related to his production and possession of child abuse material. James exploited the trust placed in him at six out-of-school-hours care centres across Sydney over three years to 2024, which were among nearly 60 centres where he had worked since 2018, by taking images and short videos of boys aged five and six. In some of the material, he carried out a sexual act towards the children. He initially refused to give investigators the passwords to an iPhone and Macbook when they presented him with a search warrant in September 2024. How police linked 'Remy' to childcare worker According to a set of agreed facts before the NSW District Court, the trail that led to James was picked up one week earlier by an officer who was part of a Queensland Police operation targeting online offences, including on the darknet. That officer had tracked the online activity of a user who went by "Remy", who appeared to be online most evenings, Australian time. One night that September, "Remy" posted six images of boys aged approximately five to seven years old, including one image from which metadata was extracted. That metadata revealed the date and time of the photo — taken in the week prior — as well as a location in Chatswood Mall, the facts reveal. Police then obtained CCTV footage of the area and quickly identified James in a crowd, appearing to take a series of photographs of a child on the shoulders of a man. The interaction lasted around a minute and the man and child were unaware, the court documents say. James was tracked to a nearby pub, where CCTV images showed him ordering a drink from the bar. Within a week of the darknet upload, James was confronted with the search warrant requiring him to provide any information that was reasonable and necessary for access to data. A fortnight after his refusal to cooperate, a digital forensics examiner had cracked into the devices and a months-long review of the contents began. What Australian Federal Police investigators found on those devices would lead them to have unimaginably difficult conversations with parents and guardians to identify victims of James. One mother last week described that conversation in an impact statement as "surreal" and said the crimes had "irreversibly changed" her family's entire world. James's iPhone contained 22 images and videos classified as "first generation" child abuse material, including children in states of undress, sometimes at urinals. "The images and videos were captured by an iPhone XR back camera and are believed to depict children known to whom the offender had access," the agreed facts say. Failed police officer During part of his offending period, James was completing training at the Goulburn Police Academy and started working for NSW Police. The force has previously said he had failed to seek required approval for secondary employment and it was "unaware of his concurrent role" in childcare. He failed to complete probation and continued working in a civilian role until quitting in May 2023. Crown Prosecutor Peter Lowe told last week's sentencing hearing that the investigation owed much to the work of Queensland Police, who acted quickly and referred the case to the AFP. The identification of James was a result of "very astute police work", he told the judge, describing how the "impressive" investigation illustrated the value of cooperative police work across different jurisdictions. 'I am deeply ashamed' In his handwritten letter, also released to the ABC by the court this week, James acknowledged there was no way to "reverse the impacts" of his crimes. He apologised to the victims and acknowledged the "profound disbelief" that must have come from learning "someone so seemingly warm and caring could handle and expose you in the way I so selfishly did". As for the parents of the children, he acknowledged they had sought to trust an "already fragile institution", believing their kids would be safe, and that his crimes may cause them to question even the best care options available. "I am deeply ashamed to have contributed to this mistrust in such an egregious way," the 27-year-old wrote. He also extended his apology to members of the AFP and other agencies, who had to review "countless files of distressing content". And to "the many men in this industry" who were of "exceeding character", James recognised his actions now cast them under "undue suspicion". James will be sentenced on July 2.