Child witnesses are expected to give evidence in prosecutions of three childcare workers accused of assaults at a Canberra centre.
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One of the workers, Samantha Grutzner, 30, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with four common assaults.
The workers are accused of using excessive force on children as young as one at the Northside Community Service Civic Early Childhood Centre.
All three have now pleaded not guilty, and plan to fight the charges at trial, represented by Ben Aulich and Associates. The proceedings have been adjourned to late January, when they will return for case management.
Prosecutors told the court on Tuesday that the matters were complex and would require the calling of numerous child witnesses. The prosecution was currently reviewing the briefs of evidence to see whether it was possible to leave out some of those witnesses.
Police began investigating allegations of assault after reports were made to management in April this year. The allegations, first raised last year, took some time to make their way from the centre to management.
A series of probes were launched, and Northside Community Services said it had moved to ensure it did everything it could to avoid a repeat at any of its centres.
