A childcare provider has given new information to police about the work history of an alleged child sex offender, after parents warned he worked more shifts at some centres than initially reported.
Warning: This story contains details of alleged child sex offences which may distress some audience members.
Fast facts
- Joshua Dale Brown, 26, has been charged with 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims at a Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook. His previous employment spans across 20 centres.
- About 1,200 children have been urged to seek testing for infectious diseases following one of the allegations that Mr Brown contaminated food with bodily fluids.
- On Wednesday, the Victorian government announced it would commission an urgent review focused on immediate action, including whether CCTV should be installed in childcare centres.
- Eligible parents or guardians can access $5,000 in financial support. More information can be found on this government website.
- A second man, Michael Simon Wilson, was also charged with serious offences related to child sex abuse material and sex offences. He was not a childcare worker but is believed to be known to Mr Brown.
On Tuesday, police announced 26-year-old childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown had been charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims at a centre in Point Cook in the city’s south-west.
Among the allegations, Mr Brown is accused of contaminating food with bodily fluids, prompting the government to urge infectious diseases testing for about 1,200 children.
The move has been described by health authorities as “highly precautionary”.
Authorities have listed 20 centres where Mr Brown had worked and his “known employment dates”.
But some parents quickly became concerned Mr Brown had been at some centres on more days than those initially listed by Victorian authorities.
The ABC has been contacted by parents from three childcare centres run by Affinity Education, including Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Keilor and the Papilio child-care centre in Essendon, alleging Mr Brown’s listed work history at their child’s centre is incomplete.
For example, Mr Brown is listed as having worked at the Papilio Early Learning in Essendon between February and May this year, but a parent whose child formerly attended the centre showed the ABC images suggesting Mr Brown worked at the centre on multiple occasions dating back until at least November 2024.
The parent said they were not notified about their child’s potential contact with Mr Brown because of the mismatch of dates.
“There will be other children who have been missed,” the parent said.
The ABC has also heard from a parent of one child from the Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Keilor, as well as a parent from a third centre which they did not want to identify, who fear the dates listed for their centres are not comprehensive.
All three centres are run by for-profit childcare provider Affinity education.
Sexual assault support lines:
- 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
- Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 131 114
- Full Stop Australia: 1800 385 578
- Bravehearts: counselling and support for survivors of child sexual abuse: 1800 272 831
- Child Wise: counselling provider: 1800 991 099
The parent from the Keilor centre showed the ABC photos featuring Mr Brown, which were accessed through an app used by the centre to share updates about children with parents.
“They said he was there for only one day, but after flicking through the Story Park [app] yesterday with a few parents, he was there for several days,” the parent said.
“He was there throughout the whole period that they said he hadn’t been there.”
The parent said they became very emotional when seeing images of the alleged offender and their child.
“I just started crying … just to know that I had left my son there for the day, to have a good day,” they said.
Mr Brown has been remanded in custody and will face court in September.
Victorian authorities have released a list of 20 centres where Mr Brown was known to have worked between January 2017 and May 2025.
(Herald Sun)
Concerns about date discrepancies at second Affinity-run centre
A parent of a child at a second Affinity-run centre, who did not want the location of their child’s centre to be identified, also believed Mr Brown was working at the centre on more days then were listed on the government website.
They said other parents from the centre shared her concerns.
“Parents and families have the right to know if their child could have been in contact with this person,” the parent said.
The same parent said because Mr Brown was only listed as working at the centre on certain days, only one of their children was listed for the government’s testing program.
“Because I’m not confident about the dates I want both my children to be eligible for testing,”
they said.
The parent said they had reached out for private testing.
In a statement to the ABC, Affinity said it was reviewing the dates Mr Brown, who is understood to have worked at 20 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025, was on shift at its facilities.
The ABC understands Affinity provided payroll data relating to Mr Brown as part of the initial police investigation but has today provided authorities with updated information about his work history.
“Affinity Education continues to cooperate fully with authorities and remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of the children and families in our care,” a spokesperson said.
Affinity Education operates childcare centres across Australia. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
When asked about the potential date discrepancies, Victoria Police said in a statement that its investigation was ongoing and any updates to what is known about Mr Brown’s employment history would be updated via the government website.
“That information including dates and locations was released on Tuesday, based on what was known at that point in time,” a Victoria police spokesperson.
The below table shows the dates listed on Tuesday, which remains unchanged as of Thursday midday.
The website also includes a disclaimer that the sites and dates are subject to change.
Victoria police said information in the table was compiled in relation to records from Mr Brown’s employment history.
If further potential exposure risks were identified, the Department of Health said it would contact additional families recommended for testing.
Parents receiving different text messages about testing recommendation
Multiple parents have raised concerns with the ABC that children who attended the same centre had been recommended for testing for different transmitted diseases.
Some text messages from the Department of Health have recommended the children be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, while others have also listed syphilis.
Some parents have received this text message from the health department. (Supplied)
When asked about the different messages on Wednesday, Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said the referrals for testing were based on “specific recommendations to individuals around their private health information”.
“The advice that people have been given is based on their risk assessment,” Dr McGrath said.
How to talk to your kids about body safety, boundaries and consent
“I want to provide assurance to those 1,200 families where we’ve recommended screening and testing, that this is a high precautionary measure.
“The risk is low but there’s not no risk, which is why we’re making this recommendation.”
Psychologist Carly Dober said it was important that parents tried to communicate the need for testing with their children in a calm, honest and age-appropriate way.
“Something like, ‘there was something bad that happened at childcare, we need to take you to get a test, do you have any questions about that’,” she said.
Ms Dober, who also a policy advisor at the Australian Association of Psychologists, said it was also important that parents who were struggling to cope with the situation reached out for emotional support.
Possible legal action to follow abuse allegations
Personal injury lawyers, Carbone Lawyers said it was investigating a potential class action on behalf of families impacted by the criminal allegations against Mr Brown.
Partner John Karantzis told the ABC his firm had already received almost 100 inquires linked to the recent allegations.
Shine Lawyers chief operating officer Jodie Willey said there were questions over supervision and how there was an opportunity for the alleged offending to take place.
“If the childcare centres in this particular case are found to be negligent the families will have a strong case for seeking accountability and recourse through civil litigation,” she said.
On Thursday, the Victorian government announced that former South Australian premier, Jay Weatherill, and Pamela White would lead an urgent review into childcare safety in the state.
The review was commissioned by the government the previous day and would look at whether CCTV should be installed in centres, as well as the Working with Children Check permit system.
Mr Weatherill was also appointed to lead the Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five early learning reform campaign in 2020. Ms White has held senior roles across the Victoria Public Service for more than three decades.
“The review will report back to the Government on Friday 15 August — and we will adopt every recommendation of the review and implement them as quickly as possible,” Premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement.
Loading…