Who is Joshua Brown, the alleged Melbourne childcare rapist?
Working at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne, Brown apparently attracted no notice from regulators for almost a decade until he was charged with 70 counts of child sex abuse, including rape, this year.
When police raided the 26-year-old's home in Point Cook in May, he had a valid working with children check and no criminal record.
Minutes down the road from his house were his old Catholic schools, as well as the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre, where it's alleged he abused at least eight babies and toddlers and contaminated children's food with bodily fluids.
Brown's former classmates at Emmanuel College were shocked when the news broke on Tuesday. They described a 'loner' in high school with few friends but no obvious concerns.
Few people wanted to comment, and Brown's social media presence appeared to have been wiped clean since his arrest in May.
Brown grew up in Point Cook and remained in the area in a rented home which he shared with a male housemate and a cat, which is now sitting vacant. Nearby were at least five of the childcare centres where he worked, though authorities are still scrambling to update his full employment history, after this masthead revealed it was wider than first released publicly to families.
Brown was easily recognisable to parents for his distinctive Celtic arm tattoos and ginger-coloured hair, which he often dyed different colours. Some families spoke of his easy laughter. He worked at large childcare chains G8 Education and Affinity Education and often did short-stint relief work at other centres.
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The Advertiser
8 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Fears alleged sex offender worked with more children
A childcare operator is urgently checking its records amid fears that an accused child sex offender may have been employed longer than previously thought. Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 sex offences after allegedly abusing eight children aged under two at a Point Cook facility in Melbourne's southwest. Victoria Police are also examining evidence of alleged offending at a centre in Essendon. A list of the 20 centres he worked at since 2017, with dates ranges, has already been made public. The parents of 1200 children have been told to get them tested for sexually transmitted infections as a precaution. Affinity Education, which operates several facilities where Brown worked, including the Essendon centre, is now reviewing its records following reports he might have been employed longer than first thought. "Given the serious nature of the matter, we are currently reviewing our records in detail to ensure completeness," a spokesperson said. "Affinity Education continues to co-operate fully with authorities and remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of the children and families in our care." Meanwhile, a former royal commissioner has slammed governments for dragging their feet on creating a national regime for working with children checks. Brown, 26, had a valid working with children check and was not known to police or subject to any complaints before his arrest in May. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse called on the federal government in 2015 to "facilitate a national model" for working with children checks. Robert Fitzgerald, one of five members of the royal commission, said the recommendation remained unfulfilled. "My view is that is shameful," the now-age discrimination commissioner told AAP. "Ten years on, that job should have been completed and the fact that it isn't means there are gaps in our child safeguarding regime." Every state and territory maintains separate working with children schemes with different rules and requirements. Victoria, Queensland and NSW have all committed to reviewing or tightening up their regimes. A 2022 Victorian ombudsman report exposed "serious flaws" in the state's scheme after former Melbourne City Mission worker Alexander Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2018. Jones was investigated for multiple alleged sexual offences in NSW but granted a permit in Victoria because his national police check was clean, as he had not been charged. People under investigation for serious offences can still hold a working with children check in Victoria. It can only be revoked upon criminal charges or a regulatory finding. Plans to strengthen the checks will be discussed at a meeting of state and federal attorneys-general in August. The federal government is also preparing to fast-track legislation in parliament this month to cut funding to centres with safety breaches. Federal frontbencher Clare O'Neil said she didn't have a good answer for why the royal commission's recommendations were left on the shelf. "A lot of these predators would pass a working with children check," she said. Families of the children recommended for STI testing are anxiously awaiting results. It's understood that at least two families were told to get their infants checked twice. They were first told to get their child checked for two diseases and then days later were warned about a third. The state's health department has expressed regret for causing any additional stress or anxiety. The allegations against Brown have cast a spotlight on educator-to-child ratios, which do not require more than one carer to be around a child at any given time, unlike the Netherlands' "four eyes" principle. A father whose two children attended the Point Cook centre wants CCTV installed throughout the facility. NSW has flagged a trial of CCTV cameras in centres, as an urgent Victorian review examines making the technology mandatory. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A childcare operator is urgently checking its records amid fears that an accused child sex offender may have been employed longer than previously thought. Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 sex offences after allegedly abusing eight children aged under two at a Point Cook facility in Melbourne's southwest. Victoria Police are also examining evidence of alleged offending at a centre in Essendon. A list of the 20 centres he worked at since 2017, with dates ranges, has already been made public. The parents of 1200 children have been told to get them tested for sexually transmitted infections as a precaution. Affinity Education, which operates several facilities where Brown worked, including the Essendon centre, is now reviewing its records following reports he might have been employed longer than first thought. "Given the serious nature of the matter, we are currently reviewing our records in detail to ensure completeness," a spokesperson said. "Affinity Education continues to co-operate fully with authorities and remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of the children and families in our care." Meanwhile, a former royal commissioner has slammed governments for dragging their feet on creating a national regime for working with children checks. Brown, 26, had a valid working with children check and was not known to police or subject to any complaints before his arrest in May. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse called on the federal government in 2015 to "facilitate a national model" for working with children checks. Robert Fitzgerald, one of five members of the royal commission, said the recommendation remained unfulfilled. "My view is that is shameful," the now-age discrimination commissioner told AAP. "Ten years on, that job should have been completed and the fact that it isn't means there are gaps in our child safeguarding regime." Every state and territory maintains separate working with children schemes with different rules and requirements. Victoria, Queensland and NSW have all committed to reviewing or tightening up their regimes. A 2022 Victorian ombudsman report exposed "serious flaws" in the state's scheme after former Melbourne City Mission worker Alexander Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2018. Jones was investigated for multiple alleged sexual offences in NSW but granted a permit in Victoria because his national police check was clean, as he had not been charged. People under investigation for serious offences can still hold a working with children check in Victoria. It can only be revoked upon criminal charges or a regulatory finding. Plans to strengthen the checks will be discussed at a meeting of state and federal attorneys-general in August. The federal government is also preparing to fast-track legislation in parliament this month to cut funding to centres with safety breaches. Federal frontbencher Clare O'Neil said she didn't have a good answer for why the royal commission's recommendations were left on the shelf. "A lot of these predators would pass a working with children check," she said. Families of the children recommended for STI testing are anxiously awaiting results. It's understood that at least two families were told to get their infants checked twice. They were first told to get their child checked for two diseases and then days later were warned about a third. The state's health department has expressed regret for causing any additional stress or anxiety. The allegations against Brown have cast a spotlight on educator-to-child ratios, which do not require more than one carer to be around a child at any given time, unlike the Netherlands' "four eyes" principle. A father whose two children attended the Point Cook centre wants CCTV installed throughout the facility. NSW has flagged a trial of CCTV cameras in centres, as an urgent Victorian review examines making the technology mandatory. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A childcare operator is urgently checking its records amid fears that an accused child sex offender may have been employed longer than previously thought. Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 sex offences after allegedly abusing eight children aged under two at a Point Cook facility in Melbourne's southwest. Victoria Police are also examining evidence of alleged offending at a centre in Essendon. A list of the 20 centres he worked at since 2017, with dates ranges, has already been made public. The parents of 1200 children have been told to get them tested for sexually transmitted infections as a precaution. Affinity Education, which operates several facilities where Brown worked, including the Essendon centre, is now reviewing its records following reports he might have been employed longer than first thought. "Given the serious nature of the matter, we are currently reviewing our records in detail to ensure completeness," a spokesperson said. "Affinity Education continues to co-operate fully with authorities and remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of the children and families in our care." Meanwhile, a former royal commissioner has slammed governments for dragging their feet on creating a national regime for working with children checks. Brown, 26, had a valid working with children check and was not known to police or subject to any complaints before his arrest in May. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse called on the federal government in 2015 to "facilitate a national model" for working with children checks. Robert Fitzgerald, one of five members of the royal commission, said the recommendation remained unfulfilled. "My view is that is shameful," the now-age discrimination commissioner told AAP. "Ten years on, that job should have been completed and the fact that it isn't means there are gaps in our child safeguarding regime." Every state and territory maintains separate working with children schemes with different rules and requirements. Victoria, Queensland and NSW have all committed to reviewing or tightening up their regimes. A 2022 Victorian ombudsman report exposed "serious flaws" in the state's scheme after former Melbourne City Mission worker Alexander Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2018. Jones was investigated for multiple alleged sexual offences in NSW but granted a permit in Victoria because his national police check was clean, as he had not been charged. People under investigation for serious offences can still hold a working with children check in Victoria. It can only be revoked upon criminal charges or a regulatory finding. Plans to strengthen the checks will be discussed at a meeting of state and federal attorneys-general in August. The federal government is also preparing to fast-track legislation in parliament this month to cut funding to centres with safety breaches. Federal frontbencher Clare O'Neil said she didn't have a good answer for why the royal commission's recommendations were left on the shelf. "A lot of these predators would pass a working with children check," she said. Families of the children recommended for STI testing are anxiously awaiting results. It's understood that at least two families were told to get their infants checked twice. They were first told to get their child checked for two diseases and then days later were warned about a third. The state's health department has expressed regret for causing any additional stress or anxiety. The allegations against Brown have cast a spotlight on educator-to-child ratios, which do not require more than one carer to be around a child at any given time, unlike the Netherlands' "four eyes" principle. A father whose two children attended the Point Cook centre wants CCTV installed throughout the facility. NSW has flagged a trial of CCTV cameras in centres, as an urgent Victorian review examines making the technology mandatory. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A childcare operator is urgently checking its records amid fears that an accused child sex offender may have been employed longer than previously thought. Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 sex offences after allegedly abusing eight children aged under two at a Point Cook facility in Melbourne's southwest. Victoria Police are also examining evidence of alleged offending at a centre in Essendon. A list of the 20 centres he worked at since 2017, with dates ranges, has already been made public. The parents of 1200 children have been told to get them tested for sexually transmitted infections as a precaution. Affinity Education, which operates several facilities where Brown worked, including the Essendon centre, is now reviewing its records following reports he might have been employed longer than first thought. "Given the serious nature of the matter, we are currently reviewing our records in detail to ensure completeness," a spokesperson said. "Affinity Education continues to co-operate fully with authorities and remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of the children and families in our care." Meanwhile, a former royal commissioner has slammed governments for dragging their feet on creating a national regime for working with children checks. Brown, 26, had a valid working with children check and was not known to police or subject to any complaints before his arrest in May. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse called on the federal government in 2015 to "facilitate a national model" for working with children checks. Robert Fitzgerald, one of five members of the royal commission, said the recommendation remained unfulfilled. "My view is that is shameful," the now-age discrimination commissioner told AAP. "Ten years on, that job should have been completed and the fact that it isn't means there are gaps in our child safeguarding regime." Every state and territory maintains separate working with children schemes with different rules and requirements. Victoria, Queensland and NSW have all committed to reviewing or tightening up their regimes. A 2022 Victorian ombudsman report exposed "serious flaws" in the state's scheme after former Melbourne City Mission worker Alexander Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2018. Jones was investigated for multiple alleged sexual offences in NSW but granted a permit in Victoria because his national police check was clean, as he had not been charged. People under investigation for serious offences can still hold a working with children check in Victoria. It can only be revoked upon criminal charges or a regulatory finding. Plans to strengthen the checks will be discussed at a meeting of state and federal attorneys-general in August. The federal government is also preparing to fast-track legislation in parliament this month to cut funding to centres with safety breaches. Federal frontbencher Clare O'Neil said she didn't have a good answer for why the royal commission's recommendations were left on the shelf. "A lot of these predators would pass a working with children check," she said. Families of the children recommended for STI testing are anxiously awaiting results. It's understood that at least two families were told to get their infants checked twice. They were first told to get their child checked for two diseases and then days later were warned about a third. The state's health department has expressed regret for causing any additional stress or anxiety. The allegations against Brown have cast a spotlight on educator-to-child ratios, which do not require more than one carer to be around a child at any given time, unlike the Netherlands' "four eyes" principle. A father whose two children attended the Point Cook centre wants CCTV installed throughout the facility. NSW has flagged a trial of CCTV cameras in centres, as an urgent Victorian review examines making the technology mandatory. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Former colleague of Joshua Dale Brown says they raised concerns over unsupervised children
A former worker at a centre where Joshua Brown is accused of abusing children said she raised concerns about children being unsupervised at the centre three years ago, claiming some even wandered into empty rooms and played in bathrooms with no one noticing. The woman, who asked not to be identified, worked with Brown at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook in 2022, Victoria. In an email to the Victorian Department of Education, seen by the worker criticised the practices and procedures at the centre, saying 'supervision itself was lacking', and 'it wasn't uncommon for a child to wander into the empty room next door without anyone noticing, or for children to be playing with water in the bathrooms unsupervised also, or one educator to be left alone outside with over 20 children during the rest time'. Unrelated to the police case against Brown, she said she was 'worried about the safety of the children at this service as well as the staff who are not being supported very well'. The worker said she witnessed 'many times' when the room was left 'out of ratio or just on', despite the amount of children with additional needs who required more supervision. 'I am worried about the safety of the children at this service as well as the staff who are not being supported very well.' The woman reached out after news of Brown's alleged offences at the centre. 'I don't feel comfortable coming out in public about this and I'll be contacting the right channels but I feel like it needs to be known I did placement at the centre the guy from the news was at for the longest time in 2022 (Creative Gardens Point Cook) at the time he was there,' she wrote. 'I feel sick'. The Victorian Department of Health have been contacted for comment, but said the active police investigation into Brown prevented them from commenting. G8 Education, who runs Creative Garden Early Learning Centre has been contacted for comment. Brown is facing 70 charges in total, including sexual penetration of a child, producing child abuse material and recklessly contaminating goods to cause alarm or anxiety. No pleas have been entered. Detectives raided the 26-year-old's home, allegedly uncovering a cache of child abuse material. The disturbing discovery set off an intensive effort to identify eight children, some as young as five months old, whom Brown is accused of abusing and filming. The allegations centre on Brown's time at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between 2022 and 2023. However Brown worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017, which are now listed on the government website. revealed Brown is accused of contaminating food with body fluid, sparking an urgent health warning to 1200 families who are now having their small children tested for sexually transmitted diseases. A new wave of parents have since been thrown into the hell of wondering whether their children have been exposed to an alleged sex abuser after centres across Melbourne alerted families Brown had also worked at their centres. Childcare providers confirmed they were working with police, handing over rosters and other employment details to help investigators track the movements of Brown. Distressed parents have contacted desperate for dates to know whether their children have come into contact with him. Police sources described the active investigation as a 'moving beast' as they examined the records, including photos of Brown at work on particular days and helped navigate the dissemination of information to parents across Melbourne.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Education Minister Jason Clare vows to introduce stronger powers for childcare investigators, funding threat
Education Minister Jason Clare has vowed new laws to allow on-the-spot compliance checks at childcare centres after childcare worker Joshua Brown was charged with dozens of child sex offences. Mr Brown, 26, was charged with 70 offences after he allegedly abused eight children at a Point Cook childcare centre in Melbourne. It is alleged some children were as young as five months, and the charges have resulted in 1200 children being asked to undergo infectious disease testing. Conceding that 'not enough has been done, and not fast enough' to keep children safe, Mr Clare said legislation would be introduced within the first sitting fortnight once parliament resumes on July 22. Once passed, the new laws would allow fraud investigators to conduct random, unannounced visits at childcare centres without a warrant, and without the need to be accompanied by police. Separate laws will also allow the federal government, which currently provides $16bn of annual funding to centres, to scrap payments to places which do not meet standards. 'One of the big weapons that the Commonwealth has, probably the biggest, is the funding that we provide to childcare centres, something like $16 billion a year,' he told Sky on Friday. 'Centers run based on that funding. If they don't get it, they can't operate. And what I'm saying is, if they're not meeting those standards that we expect, then we should have the power to pull that funding off them. So the Bill will do that. 'The bill will also make sure that centres that aren't meeting those minimum standards can't expand and open another centre.' Mr Clare said there were about 150 staff in the investigate team, with the government also able to draw in investigators from state based regulators. He noted that while the initiative will cost money, it would ultimately help the budget bottom line by reducing fraudulent claims. 'The investment of about an extra $200 million over the last few years has clawed back more than that in money we've saved from the fraud investigations,' he said. Mr Clare said joint federal and state education ministers will consider how CCTV cameras could be used as a deterrent against unscrupulous behaviour but said they had to 'be in the right places if deterrence is going to work'. 'How you set them up is just as critical as whether you've got them there at all,' he said. There could also be stronger laws in relation to real-time updates on working-with-children checks when Attorney-General Michelle Rowland convenes a meeting with state attorney generals in August. The long called-for changes were an initial recommendation made in the 2015 Royal Commission into Institutionalised Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Attorneys-General will consider how states and territories can better share information across borders and look at strategies to 'improve criminal record checks and the criminal record check system'. However Mr Clare warned these solutions were not a 'silver bullet'. 'I'm not going to comment specifically on the case in Victoria, because it will be before the court, but in other examples, we've found people who have been convicted of assaulting children in child care centres where they had a criminal record check. Why? Because they didn't have a criminal record and so they got through the system,' he said. 'The truth is here there's no silver bullet. There's a whole bunch of things that we need to do. And this work will never end. 'There are always going to be more things that we need to do here, because there's always going to be people who are going to try and break through the net to try to do the dastardly things that we've seen other people do.' Bravehearts chief executive Alison Geale welcomed the proposed changes but hoped the 'vigour and rigour extends beyond this news cycle because these cases are happening almost weekly'. 'I think that any measure that's taken in isolation isn't the one answer. There is systemic reform, societal reform that needs to happen,' she told Sky. The proposed changes after Mr Brown, a 26-year-old former childcare worker, was hit with 70 offences including sexual assault, and the possession of child pornography. Victorian authorities have since confirmed he worked at 20 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025. About 2600 families have been contacted, with 1200 children being urged to undergo testing for infectious disease as a precaution. He will appear at Melbourne Magistrate's Court on September 15.
