Families at a Dee Why early learning centre have been reassured that the service is not part of the Australian Federal Police’s ongoing Operation Moonbi investigation, despite appearing on a published list of childcare locations linked to a former childcare worker facing hundreds of alleged child abuse offences.
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Dee Why Kindergarten is one of more than 55 childcare and early education services identified by the AFP as places where a 35-year-old Sydney man either worked or attended between 2009 and 2025. The man has been charged with 329 offences relating to alleged child sexual abuse and child abuse material following a year-long investigation.
The Northern Beaches centre was included on the AFP’s list after the man attended in a training capacity rather than as an employee, according to the kindergarten.
Kindergarten Explains Training Visits
Dee Why Kindergarten said the AFP had confirmed the man attended the service in 2021 through a third-party Registered Training Organisation and was never employed by the kindergarten.
In an interview with media, coordinator Kerry Smith said his visits were limited to scheduled assessments of educators completing early childhood qualifications. She said his role involved observing and assessing educators’ interactions with children, and that he was never left alone with children at the service.
Smith also said the AFP had advised the kindergarten it was not directly involved in the investigation and that police had found no evidence or information suggesting any alleged offending occurred at the centre.
Three Northern Beaches Services Named
Dee Why Kindergarten is one of three Northern Beaches childcare services identified by the AFP as places the man attended. The others are Kiddiwinks Play, Laugh & Learn at Warriewood and Mimosa Kids Preschool and Early Learning Centre at Frenchs Forest.
The AFP has alleged offending occurred only at five locations comprising four childcare centres in Box Hill, Putney, Rouse Hill and Warrawee, along with the man’s own early education business at Glenorie. None of the Northern Beaches services are among those locations.
Mimosa Kids said detectives involved in Operation Moonbi advised the AFP would update the Operation Moonbi webpage to better distinguish between locations where the man was employed and those he visited in a training or assessment capacity.
Investigation Continues
Operation Moonbi began after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the United States alerted the AFP to suspected child abuse material uploaded online in June 2025. Detectives later searched a property at Glossodia in Sydney’s north-west, where electronic devices were seized for forensic examination.
Investigators say they have reviewed about 2.4 million electronic files during the inquiry, which has involved 12 search warrants over 12 months. Police allege the case currently involves 136 identified victims while work continues to identify additional children.
Read: Hunt Continues for Second Man After Dee Why Convenience Store Robbery and Assault
The AFP has advised that families directly affected by the investigation have already been contacted by police and NSW Health, with support continuing to be offered. The agency has also published the full list of childcare services linked to the investigation, together with information about counselling and support services for parents, carers and children who may need assistance.
Published 18-July-2026
