Alleged Melbourne childcare sex offender revealed to be son of female prison officer involved in jail controversy
Joshua Dale Brown, 26, from Point Cook, faces a staggering list of serious child sex offences relating to eight victims who were in his care.
As he currently remains in custody, new information has confirmed Mr Brown is the son of a prison officer, who admitted to lying about calling a nurse in the hours before an Indigenous woman died in jail on January 1, 2020.
Alleged child sexual abuser Joshua Dale Brown is the son of a prison officer, who admitted to lying about calling a nurse in the hours before an Indigenous woman died in jail. Picture: Supplied
Veronica Nelson was reportedly screaming in pain and complained of cramps in her legs and fingers when Mr Brown's mother, Tracey Brown, told her to drink fluids and gave her a paracetamol through a trap in her cell door, according to the Herald Sun.
Ms Nelson then used her unit cell's intercom system about nine times after the pain medication to call for help, but was told by Ms Brown at 3.33am nothing more could be done to help her.
She was found dead about four hours later at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. Ms Brown was a prison guard on night shift at the time of the incident.
A medical examination revealed the woman had a serious, undiagnosed gastrointestinal condition.
During an inquest, Ms Brown said she "wished" she helped Ms Nelson when asked by counsel whether she should have checked on her.
Joshua Dale Brown, 26, from Point Cook, faces a staggering list of serious child sex offences relating to eight victims who were in his care. Picture: Supplied.
Victoria Police are understood to be still investigating, as Mr Brown faces horror charges including sexual penetration of a child under 12, producing and transmitting child abuse material, and recklessly contaminating goods to cause alarm or anxiety.
The offences allegedly occurred at Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, where Mr Brown was employed from October 2021 until February 2024.
Point Cook residents familiar with Mr Brown told the Herald Sun he wasn't someone who was invited into the neighbourhood group chat or a person they spoke much about until now.
Residents were also unaware that his mother had been part of a jail incident involving the death of an Indigenous woman.
Deanna Song, a neighbour with a three-year-old daughter, said "it's scary" the incident occurred so close by to her.
'It's shocking news … it's scary that it happened so close to me. Sometimes my daughter and neighbour's little children are down at this park in the middle of all the units," she told The Herald Sun.
'We were trying to piece the puzzle together (of his arrest) … and then this morning someone sent the article (in the group chat).
'We didn't know much about him … I didn't have any conversations, not like with my other neighbours."
Victoria Police has issued a plea to families of more than 1,200 potentially affected children to have their kids tested "for infectious diseases".
The full list of the 20 centres where Mr Brown was employed between January 2018 and May 2025 has been made public in what police describe as a move made "out of an abundance of caution".
The Victorian Department of Health has also activated a public health response, urging parent to have their children screened for infectious diseases, depending on their potential exposure during the period of alleged offending.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Male childcare workers say they feel judged in wake of latest abuse case
Childcare worker Ben Munroe was worried as soon as he read the news alert on his phone — a male childcare worker charged with more than 70 offences — his own career might be at risk. He didn't want to even get out of bed and go to work, hyper-aware of any judgement of his gender. "A week ago I wasn't thinking in terms of male and female, I was just thinking I'm an educator here doing my job like everybody else." But that's now changed. The 27-year-old, who has been working in the childcare sector in Melbourne's inner east for two years, said the gravity of the charges against the accused, a similar aged man from a similar background, has taken a toll. "Across every centre in Melbourne, there will be parents saying, 'I don't want men changing my child's nappies'. I'm not going to go against that … if that's what they need to feel safe." He said about a third of parents had reached out to show support to him personally, acknowledging he was "one of the good ones," but that hasn't happened across the board. "A third of parents were indifferent, but then another third I felt new tension that didn't exist previously. Joshua Dale Brown was arrested and charged this week with more than 70 offences including child sexual abuse, producing abuse material and contaminating food with bodily fluids. The charges involve eight children, aged five months to two years, at a Point Cook Centre between 2022 and 2023. The latest available Australian crime statistics show that out of those charged with a child sex offence in 2022 to 2023, 91 per cent were male. Mr Munroe said it had been a tough week for everyone working in childcare, but male educators in particular. And some advocates have said exactly that and called for men to be banned from the profession. Delanie Woodlock, a senior research fellow at the UNSW and deputy director of Child Light, a global child safety initiative, said it's not that simple. She said centres needed to be designed to make this sort of abuse impossible without detection. "What we're seeing through the major case studies that we've been looking at is that these abuses were only detected through external investigations," she said. "That usually happened through child sexual abuse material and sharing that online and it was traced backwards to the centre." She said there was no walking back from the statistics that the majority of sexual abuse that happens in childcare revolves around male "professional perpetrators". "They're attracted to this work because it gives them sexual access to infants and children," she said. According to a 2024 workforce census, male educators make up just 3 per cent of the early childhood sector. She points to research that shows perpetrators target pre-verbal children and go undetected due to failed internal safeguards. "Abusers have actually picked different workplaces if they have lax CCTV coverage or they can use their mobile phones." Her research includes examinations of six childcare serial sexual assault cases, including Australian cases, that highlight other systemic failures, including not enough scrutiny of complaints against men. In one, perpetrator Shannon McCoole was promoted despite a female colleague's complaint. The colleague who raised concerns was called a "f***ing bitch" and accused of being jealous after McCool received a promotion. In the second instance, a female colleague of perpetrator Ashley Griffiths was arrested and charged for exposing information about Griffiths to the media. Dr Woodlock said these cases illustrate how concerns raised about male perpetrators were dismissed or penalised due to fears of appearing discriminatory, rather than actually prioritising child protection. She stressed the need for a 100 per cent preventable system, implemented through boosting background checks, strict professional boundaries including banning educators from working as babysitters, the "four eyes policy" in nappy changing, and design changes like CCTV, to deter offenders. In response to the allegations against Joshua Brown, the federal government announced this week a series of reforms aimed at enhancing child safety in early childhood education and care services. The legislation is due to be introduced later this month and aims to empower federal officers to conduct "spot checks" of childcare centres without prior warrants. State arrangements are set to be strengthened too. 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 their regimes, and federal minister Jason Clare confirmed plans to strengthen the checks would be discussed at a meeting of state and federal attorneys-general in August. Mr Munroe said he's worried about other men in the field, especially those at high school thinking about a career in childcare, part-way through training, or those working in less supported centres. He is now looking at ways to support the "many good male educators out there". "I'm thinking about … maybe opening a support group for male educators, just to let them know that there are a lot of really good ones out there."
Perth Now
10 hours ago
- Perth Now
Dad's vile discovery at daughter's childcare
A Melbourne father has revealed the horrifying moment he realised his child had been in the care of accused pedophile Joshua Brown. Abraham Khoury's daughter attended Milestones Early Learning Centre in Greensborough in Melbourne's north east last year and was horrified when he found a photo of the accused pedophile alongside Mr Khoury's daughter. Melbourne father Abraham Khoury said he found a picture of his daughter alongside the accused sex offender. Channel 9 Credit: Channel 9 The image was taken on December 5, which Mr Khoury said he found on the childcare centre's communication app. He claimed neither the childcare centre, nor police, informed him that Mr Brown had allegedly worked at the centre. 'To know that he was there, and we were all kept in the dark about it, no one told us, there was no information available,' Mr Khoury told 9News. 'You're angry, you've been lied to. You feel gross.' Joshua Brown was spotted alongside Mr Khoury's daughter at an early learning centre in December last year. Channel 9 Credit: Channel 9 Mr Brown has been charged with 70 offences after he allegedly abused eight children at an early education centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023. It's alleged some of the children were as young as five months old. About 1200 children have since been advised to undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The alleged offender worked in 20 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025, with a dedicated website established listing the childcare centres where he worked. The list includes three Milestones Early Leaning Centres in Hoppers Crossing, Werribee and Bundoora. However, the Greensborough centre was not mentioned on the list. The Melbourne man has been charged with 70 offences. Picture Supplied., Credit: Supplied Mr Khoury said he was horrified upon seeing the photo of the alleged sex offender with his daughter, and has since taken his child for testing. 'We have to get our child now tested for sexually transmitted diseases,' he said. The Melbourne father said he contacted the Greensborough centre, which is owned by Affinity Education Group, but heard nothing back. He urged for more to be done to protect children while attending early education centres. 'There needs to be reform, there needs to be cameras,' he told the outlet. 'There needs to be just more, because now it's just the bare minimum.' He worked at 20 childcare centres across the state since 2017. Picture Supplied., Credit: Supplied This week, Inspire Early Learning – which operates 16 childcare centres across Victoria and is not among one of the centres where Mr Brown worked – announced it would no longer allow male educators to change nappies or complete toilet duties at its centres. In a letter sent to parents, chief curriculum and quality officer Eleinna Anderson said male staff would still play a 'vital' role in activities and classroom preparation, but said the changes were a necessary step. 'The wellbeing and safety of your children are at the heart of everything we do,' she said per 7News. 'We're writing to share a few important updates to our guidelines around staff interactions with children and team responsibilities – changes made with careful thought and a continued commitment to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all.' NewsWire has contacted Milestone Early Learning Centre and Affinity Group for comment. Sexual violence helplines
The Age
19 hours ago
- The Age
Inside the life of alleged Melbourne childcare rapist Joshua Brown
Even as a teenager, Joshua Brown knew his future lay in childcare. In his final three years of high school, he was already studying early childhood education at TAFE, fast-tracking his path to a job only weeks after graduation. 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 that he shared with a male housemate and a cat. It 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.
