A former Canberra childcare worker has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for indecently touching a young boy in his care. A supreme court judge found the man showed no remorse for his offending and had few positive prospects for rehabilitation.
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00:00 A four-year-old boy speaking up sent former childcare worker Muhammad Ali to prison.
00:08 The 30-year-old was sentenced to 18 months behind bars after a jury convicted him for
00:13 pinching the boy's genitals while in his care last year.
00:17 The ACT Supreme Court heard it happened in a CCTV blind spot at the childcare centre
00:23 where Ali was casually employed.
00:25 "Ali pinched me on the doodle," the boy said in a police interview at the time, later telling
00:31 the court it made him feel "scared and sad and hurt" and he sometimes found he couldn't
00:37 breathe.
00:38 The boy's mother also told the court she now found herself constantly searching other parents
00:44 and children for indicators of abuse.
00:47 She told reporters after the sentencing that she had to put a stop to the man's offending.
00:52 "Knowing that if I didn't do anything that this man would still be working in childcare."
00:57 Justice Belinda Baker said Ali had exploited the boy's acute vulnerability and committed
01:03 a gross breach of trust.
01:05 "Sexual offending against our children causes deep harm," she told the court.
01:10 The court heard Ali had shown no remorse and had not accepted responsibility for his offending.
01:16 He was also assessed last week as having an average risk of general re-offending but an
01:21 above average risk of sexual re-offending.
01:25 He'll be eligible for parole in 12 months.
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