SYDNEY — An Australian former childcare worker has been charged with abusing 91 children in what police described Tuesday as one of the country's "most horrific" child sex abuse cases.

Police said the offenses happened at 10 different childcare centers between 2007 and 2022 and exclusively targeted "prepubescent girls".

He has been charged with 1,623 separate crimes, including 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child younger than 10, officers added.

Detectives sifted through huge amounts of graphic material captured on the 45-year-old man's phone and said they were confident they had now identified all of his alleged victims.

He had passed all of the stringent background checks needed to work with children in Australia, police said.

"It's beyond the realms of anyone's imagination what this person did to these children," a senior police investigator said.

"I can only say, you try not to be shocked after a long period of time in the police, but this is a horrific case."

© Agence France-Presse

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