Brisbane Times reports:

A 12-year-old schoolgirl gave birth to her babysitter’s child, a court has heard. […] Matthew James Vernon, 29, of Ballarat East, had sex with the girl at least twice while babysitting at her home. […] The [child’s mother] said her daughter was also torn between wanting to be a mother and a child.

“(The baby) calls me mum, which hurts (my daughter). I know in my own heart that (she) is her mother, but at the moment I have to let her be a kid and not take all the role, but some of that role,” she said. […] The woman issued a warning to fellow parents who noticed family or friends acting strangely around children.

[…] “Just be wary of them. If they take a special interest in one person, particularly a girl, just be careful. Don’t let anybody else go through the hell we’ve been through,” she said. [ends]

We have to be indeed mindful of the incidence of child sexual abuse in our midst by the people that we most trust. We live a society which is so unsuspecting of sexual abuse of children by those who come into trust with the family and the children. Beware!