WA man in court over child sex charges

The man charged over last week's horror alleged abduction and sexual abuse of two children at a Perth holiday care program has faced court where a magistrate agreed to keep his identity secret.

The 52-year-old North Perth man appeared by video from Perth's maximum security Hakea prison on Tuesday.

He looked at the camera until magistrate Joe Cicchini began reading out the charges, then looked embarrassed, lowered his head and mumbled "yes" when Mr Cicchini asked if he understood.

Mr Cicchini referred to the accused as "Mr X" after agreeing to a prosecution request to suppress his name because it could negatively affect an ongoing investigation and was in the interests of justice.

The charges include the abduction and sexual penetration of a four-year-old girl and five-year-old boy while they were in each other's presence.

Mr X was remanded in custody to appear in court again on May 4.

The events shocked Perth residents and prompted a state government investigation into what happened, including how paid staff at the childcare provider could let a four and five-year-old child walk off and not notice them missing before a stranger found them wandering in nearby Hyde Park.

The provider, which is run by a committee of parents, wrote to families that use the holiday service last week telling them it had been suspended by the Department of Local Government and Communities for a month during the investigation.