Joshua Brown worked in childcare centre's kitchen in days before his arrest
In a statement to this masthead on Friday afternoon, a spokesman for childcare centre operator Affinity confirmed the alleged child sex offender had 'assisted in the kitchen' at its Papilio Early Learning Centre in Essendon during a brief period earlier this year, supporting meal preparations while centre chefs were absent.
Brown had led children in a 'food-based' learning activity, which included guiding children in an educational activity where they had prepared rocky road, the statement said.
Brown, 26, is due to appear in court in September facing more than 70 charges, including sexually penetrating a child under 12, attempting to sexually penetrate a child under 12, sexually assaulting a child under 16, and producing child abuse material.
Affinity said in the statement that the involvement of educators in food-based activities was 'consistent' with their 'play-based learning principles', and that centre managers with the 'relevant food safety certifications' were responsible for supervising educators in the kitchen.
The company was not aware of any further instances where Brown had provided kitchen assistance in other Affinity centres, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, ways to fast-track the introduction of CCTV monitoring in childcare centres will be examined under an urgent review of the sector.
Details of the Victorian government's rapid child safety review – which was called in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse by Brown – were revealed by Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn on Friday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Joshua Brown sacked from previous child care centre
More details are emerging about the work history of Joshua Dale Brown, who's been charged with dozens of child sex offences in Victoria. He was sacked from one childcare centre in 2021 over his handling of an incident report. There's no suggestion that Joshua Brown engaged in any offending during his time at the centre.
7NEWS
6 hours ago
- 7NEWS
E-bike rider killed in crash with car at Reservoir in Melbourne's North
An e-bike rider has died in a crash with a car on Wednesday evening. They were travelling along Edwardes St at Reservoir, in Melbourne's north, when the bike and car collided about 5pm. The e-bike rider died at the scene, Victoria Police said. They are yet to be formally identified. The driver, who was the sole occupant of the car, stopped at the scene. They were not physically injured in the crash. Investigations into the crash are ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. There have now been 171 lives lost on Victorian roads this year, according to Victoria Police.
The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Lack of willpower' stalls childcare safety reforms
A former royal commissioner has accused state and federal governments of dragging their feet on safeguards that could have protected childcare abuse victims. Federal authorities have promised to fast-track a national register for childcare workers after Melbourne educator Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two. The offences allegedly occurred at the G8-owned Creative Garden centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. Authorities say Brown worked at 24 facilities since 2017. They have recommended an additional 800 children who crossed paths with him be tested for infectious diseases after identifying additional centres where he worked. Investigators have blamed a two-week delay in releasing his complete work history on childcare providers not having centralised records, requiring detectives to execute search warrants to obtain handwritten records, shift rosters and other critical information. The issue harked back to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which in its 2017 final report found one of the great difficulties in most sectors dealing with children was poor record keeping and information sharing. Recommendations included the need for substantial improvement in teacher and worker registrations, an increase in the quality of institutions' record keeping, the ability to exchange information between facilities and for states and territories to keep better track of workers employed in their jurisdictions. Despite their acceptance of the recommendations, former royal commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said it had been difficult to get all nine governments led by the Commonwealth to act. "Ten years on from our recommendations around information sharing and record keeping, the job has not yet been done and it has not been done because the nine governments of Australia have not committed the willpower to get it done in a timely manner," Mr Fitzgerald told AAP. He accused some states and territories of being particularly slow in implementing significant recommendations. "These are all manageable. These are all achievable and my disappointment is that progress has been made, but the job should have been done," Mr Fitzgerald said. The former commissioner said every gap left in safeguarding the sector meant children were put at risk. Adequate record keeping and information sharing can inform subsequent employers of a history of concern, not necessarily convictions, and can provide authorities with an insight into any patterns of abuse. But the former commissioner has warned workers' rights can't be abandoned when it comes to sharing information about the conduct of individuals where there has been no substantiation of complaints or criminal action. The Victorian government has pledged to establish a register of early childhood educators in the next two months, which will link into the national registration system once it is established. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A former royal commissioner has accused state and federal governments of dragging their feet on safeguards that could have protected childcare abuse victims. Federal authorities have promised to fast-track a national register for childcare workers after Melbourne educator Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two. The offences allegedly occurred at the G8-owned Creative Garden centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. Authorities say Brown worked at 24 facilities since 2017. They have recommended an additional 800 children who crossed paths with him be tested for infectious diseases after identifying additional centres where he worked. Investigators have blamed a two-week delay in releasing his complete work history on childcare providers not having centralised records, requiring detectives to execute search warrants to obtain handwritten records, shift rosters and other critical information. The issue harked back to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which in its 2017 final report found one of the great difficulties in most sectors dealing with children was poor record keeping and information sharing. Recommendations included the need for substantial improvement in teacher and worker registrations, an increase in the quality of institutions' record keeping, the ability to exchange information between facilities and for states and territories to keep better track of workers employed in their jurisdictions. Despite their acceptance of the recommendations, former royal commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said it had been difficult to get all nine governments led by the Commonwealth to act. "Ten years on from our recommendations around information sharing and record keeping, the job has not yet been done and it has not been done because the nine governments of Australia have not committed the willpower to get it done in a timely manner," Mr Fitzgerald told AAP. He accused some states and territories of being particularly slow in implementing significant recommendations. "These are all manageable. These are all achievable and my disappointment is that progress has been made, but the job should have been done," Mr Fitzgerald said. The former commissioner said every gap left in safeguarding the sector meant children were put at risk. Adequate record keeping and information sharing can inform subsequent employers of a history of concern, not necessarily convictions, and can provide authorities with an insight into any patterns of abuse. But the former commissioner has warned workers' rights can't be abandoned when it comes to sharing information about the conduct of individuals where there has been no substantiation of complaints or criminal action. The Victorian government has pledged to establish a register of early childhood educators in the next two months, which will link into the national registration system once it is established. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A former royal commissioner has accused state and federal governments of dragging their feet on safeguards that could have protected childcare abuse victims. Federal authorities have promised to fast-track a national register for childcare workers after Melbourne educator Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two. The offences allegedly occurred at the G8-owned Creative Garden centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. Authorities say Brown worked at 24 facilities since 2017. They have recommended an additional 800 children who crossed paths with him be tested for infectious diseases after identifying additional centres where he worked. Investigators have blamed a two-week delay in releasing his complete work history on childcare providers not having centralised records, requiring detectives to execute search warrants to obtain handwritten records, shift rosters and other critical information. The issue harked back to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which in its 2017 final report found one of the great difficulties in most sectors dealing with children was poor record keeping and information sharing. Recommendations included the need for substantial improvement in teacher and worker registrations, an increase in the quality of institutions' record keeping, the ability to exchange information between facilities and for states and territories to keep better track of workers employed in their jurisdictions. Despite their acceptance of the recommendations, former royal commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said it had been difficult to get all nine governments led by the Commonwealth to act. "Ten years on from our recommendations around information sharing and record keeping, the job has not yet been done and it has not been done because the nine governments of Australia have not committed the willpower to get it done in a timely manner," Mr Fitzgerald told AAP. He accused some states and territories of being particularly slow in implementing significant recommendations. "These are all manageable. These are all achievable and my disappointment is that progress has been made, but the job should have been done," Mr Fitzgerald said. The former commissioner said every gap left in safeguarding the sector meant children were put at risk. Adequate record keeping and information sharing can inform subsequent employers of a history of concern, not necessarily convictions, and can provide authorities with an insight into any patterns of abuse. But the former commissioner has warned workers' rights can't be abandoned when it comes to sharing information about the conduct of individuals where there has been no substantiation of complaints or criminal action. The Victorian government has pledged to establish a register of early childhood educators in the next two months, which will link into the national registration system once it is established. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 A former royal commissioner has accused state and federal governments of dragging their feet on safeguards that could have protected childcare abuse victims. Federal authorities have promised to fast-track a national register for childcare workers after Melbourne educator Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two. The offences allegedly occurred at the G8-owned Creative Garden centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. Authorities say Brown worked at 24 facilities since 2017. They have recommended an additional 800 children who crossed paths with him be tested for infectious diseases after identifying additional centres where he worked. Investigators have blamed a two-week delay in releasing his complete work history on childcare providers not having centralised records, requiring detectives to execute search warrants to obtain handwritten records, shift rosters and other critical information. The issue harked back to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which in its 2017 final report found one of the great difficulties in most sectors dealing with children was poor record keeping and information sharing. Recommendations included the need for substantial improvement in teacher and worker registrations, an increase in the quality of institutions' record keeping, the ability to exchange information between facilities and for states and territories to keep better track of workers employed in their jurisdictions. Despite their acceptance of the recommendations, former royal commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said it had been difficult to get all nine governments led by the Commonwealth to act. "Ten years on from our recommendations around information sharing and record keeping, the job has not yet been done and it has not been done because the nine governments of Australia have not committed the willpower to get it done in a timely manner," Mr Fitzgerald told AAP. He accused some states and territories of being particularly slow in implementing significant recommendations. "These are all manageable. These are all achievable and my disappointment is that progress has been made, but the job should have been done," Mr Fitzgerald said. The former commissioner said every gap left in safeguarding the sector meant children were put at risk. Adequate record keeping and information sharing can inform subsequent employers of a history of concern, not necessarily convictions, and can provide authorities with an insight into any patterns of abuse. But the former commissioner has warned workers' rights can't be abandoned when it comes to sharing information about the conduct of individuals where there has been no substantiation of complaints or criminal action. The Victorian government has pledged to establish a register of early childhood educators in the next two months, which will link into the national registration system once it is established. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
