Muhammad Ali, pictured in 2023, has faced an ACT Supreme Court trial this week. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged child abuse.
The lawyer for a former childcare worker accused of indecently assaulting two children in Canberra told jurors they must ignore recent reports of unrelated allegations involving Australian childcare centres and only focus on this case.
Muhammad Ali, 31, is fighting two counts of committing an act of indecency on a child in his ACT Supreme Court jury trial, which started earlier this week.
It is alleged he indecently assaulted a three-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy during the time he was employed as a casual educator at a Canberra daycare centre in 2022.
He was suspended in April 2022 after allegations began to emerge against him, and he did not return to the centre.
Barrister Sarah Baker-Goldsmith, appearing for Mr Ali, made her closing submissions on Friday (22 August), in which she said she had to address “the elephant in the room”.
She couldn’t imagine there was anyone in the country who was not aware of recent reports in the media about allegations involving childcare centres, but she told jurors they could not draw any inferences from matters that were outside this courtroom.
The barrister said the evidence from the childcare centre was that her client was very good with children and there had been no complaints about him until April 2022.
The allegations emerged due to the claims made by a second boy whom Mr Ali was not currently facing charges over. In April 2022, this boy claimed Mr Ali had touched his genitals at the daycare.
His mother reported this to the centre, and Mr Ali was suspended. She went on to tell the mother of the four-year-old boy what happened as their sons were friends, as well as the mother of the three-year-old girl the following month.
On Friday, Ms Baker-Goldsmith said an expert reported suggestive questions can influence children and may want to give the answer they think their parents want, especially when repeatedly questioned.
She said the jurors might think the girl and the boy had been “primed” by their parents, intentionally or unintentionally, to say Mr Ali indecently touched them.
She said the boy heard from his parents that something happened at the daycare involving Mr Ali and both children were repeatedly questioned about whether they were touched at the daycare.
“They might believe these things happened because others said they happened,” she said.
The barrister also said there were CCTV cameras throughout the daycare centre and questioned how the assaults could have happened in the way the children described without being caught on the cameras.
“Can you really be satisfied that what you’ve been told by the children is true and accurate?” she said.
Prosecutor Marcus Dyason said an expert told jurors a child who had been sexually abused may demonstrate changes in their behaviour, such as becoming difficult or having emotional outbursts.
He pointed out the girl’s mother had noticed changes in her behaviour in early 2022, such as becoming “really, really quiet” and not wanting to be around people.
Mr Dyason also urged jurors to put themselves in the girl’s shoes when thinking about how she gave evidence in court, as by that time she was almost five years old and was being questioned by a defence lawyer in front of a judge, both of whom were strangers to her.
He argued the girl never resiled from her claims that Mr Ali touched her genitals, even though she became unresponsive when his defence lawyers suggested she was lying during her cross-examination.
“She is speaking up about what happened to her, and she’s told she is wrong,” he said, saying it was understandable why she shut down while being questioned.
Mr Dyason said when the boy was interviewed by police in 2023, his demeanour changed when Mr Ali’s name was raised.
“This is an uncomfortable memory for [the boy] and the change in his demeanour suggests that,” he said.
He said the boy’s claims about how Mr Ali had touched his genitals “never changes”.
“[He] remembers what the accused did to him and repeatedly gives consistent evidence about it,” the prosecutor argued.
Acting Justice Peter Berman will conclude his address to the jury on Monday (25 August).
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
@John Naturally, you are entitled to your opinion. Perhaps read a bit broader before you paint one… View