A 48-year-old childcare worker has been sentenced to four years in prison for the physical abuse of three toddlers. Edwina Amy Ling pleaded guilty to 80 counts of common assault and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, stemming from incidents at the Injinoo Child Care Centre in remote Far North Queensland. The offenses occurred between August 30 and September 5, 2024.
Details of the Abuse Emerge in Court
During sentencing in Cairns District Court, District Court Judge Dean Morzone KC described Ling’s actions as “monstrous, cruel and sadistic” and a “gross breach of trust.” Ling received a sentence of four years’ jail, with a non-parole period of one year.
The court was presented with CCTV footage detailing the assaults on three children, aged between 13 months and two-and-a-half years old. One disturbing video showed Ling grabbing a 13-month-old boy by the neck and head, repeatedly smothering his face with a cot mattress and pillow, pulling his head back, striking him, placing her foot on his face, and kicking him across the floor. Other footage depicted Ling shaking the child, throwing him onto a beanbag, lifting him by one arm, mock punching near his face, throwing a playpen at him, and forcefully pushing and throwing him down while he slept.
Ling had initially faced a charge of torturing the child, which was later withdrawn.
Impact on Families and Trust
Parents of one of the young victims, who was 13 months old at the time, expressed their devastation and betrayal in an impact statement read to the court. They stated their son was not kept safe as they had trusted, and highlighted perceived failings within the childcare center. “She [Edwina Ling] chose to physically abuse our child, and others, not once but multiple times over several days,” the statement read. “She was entrusted with the care of the most vulnerable people in our community. Our son could not defend himself or tell us what was happening to him. She broke that trust.” The parents added that the trauma continues to affect them daily, with constant reliving of the events.
Regulatory Concerns and Centre Closure
The Injinoo Child Care Centre was exempt from Australia’s National Quality Framework, the national system for regulating and assessing childcare services, due to receiving direct federal government funding. Consequently, it was not assessed against national quality standards and was instead regulated under Queensland’s Education and Care Services Act.
Queensland’s Early Childhood Regulatory Authority, part of the Department of Education, cancelled the provider’s approval and closed the Injinoo Child Care Centre nearly a year after the assaults. An internal investigation was conducted by the department, but the report’s public release has been refused despite requests from the affected family. This action is currently under review by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).
Ling began her employment at the centre as a cook and cleaner before being promoted to an educator in the baby room within months, while she was studying a certificate III in Child Care.
