Bombshell claims about childcare worker accused of abuse
In May, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said Joshua Dale Brown was not previously known to police and had a working with children check.
But now it has emerged that two complaints about Mr Brown were investigated and substantiated in the two years before his arrest.
Mr Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 offences related to eight alleged victims aged between five months and two years old, sparking a call by Victorian health authorities for 1200 children to get tested for sexually transmitted infectious diseases.
On Sunday, the ABC revealed two reports were made to Victoria's Reportable Conduct Scheme about Mr Brown's interaction with children at Point Cook's Creative Gardens, where he is alleged to have abused eight children.
Those reports did not relate to sexual conduct.
The first in April 2023 reported by three team members was two years before he was charged and related to him aggressively picking up and putting down a child and then failing to support the upset child.
The second incident raised by a parent in January 2024 alleged he raised his voice to three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one, the leg of another and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe.
Both incidents were investigated and substantiated by G8, the childcare giant that operates the centre.
Mr Brown was disciplined after the first incident, given a written warning and a performance improvement plan. He took three months leave but returned to work at the centre.
After the second incident Mr Brown was suspended immediately and he then resigned from the centre, and went on to work at 10 other Melbourne childcare centres not owned by G8.
G8 Education sent a letter to families on Saturday confirming the incidents and claiming they were reported to Victoria Police.
The allegations did not spark a review of his WWCC, which allowed him to work at other centres.
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The Advertiser
6 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Accused abuser worked after childcare misconduct claims
Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility. The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company. Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged. However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities. The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care. Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation. In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations. These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe. The allegations were considered proven, the company said. "The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday. "She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations. "I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police." The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks. But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review. "We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said. "We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now." Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones. G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law". "All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility. The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company. Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged. However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities. The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care. Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation. In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations. These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe. The allegations were considered proven, the company said. "The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday. "She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations. "I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police." The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks. But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review. "We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said. "We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now." Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones. G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law". "All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility. The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company. Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged. However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities. The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care. Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation. In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations. These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe. The allegations were considered proven, the company said. "The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday. "She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations. "I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police." The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks. But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review. "We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said. "We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now." Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones. G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law". "All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023. The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility. The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company. Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged. However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities. The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care. Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation. In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations. These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe. The allegations were considered proven, the company said. "The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday. "She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations. "I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police." The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks. But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review. "We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said. "We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now." Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones. G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law". "All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
The Age
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- The Age
Protester insists violent attacks not antisemitic as speaker predicts Israel's demise
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Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Protesters insist violent attacks not antisemitic as speaker predicts Israel's demise
A speaker at the latest of Melbourne's regular pro-Palestine rallies has insisted recent violent attacks at businesses with links to Israel were not antisemitic, as controversial chants were again led at Sunday's event. Speakers at Sunday's march, attended by hundreds in the CBD, also attacked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who last week released a report from his antisemitism envoy, and Premier Jacinta Allan, who announced a taskforce after last weekend's attacks, which included the firebombing of a synagogue. The protests have been held almost every weekend since Hamas' terror attack on Israel, which killed about 1300 people, and throughout Israel's devastating retaliation that has killed almost 60,000 people in Gaza as well as fuelled wider regional conflicts. One rally speaker said the media, including The Age, had misrepresented last weekend's incidents at Lovitt Technologies in Greensborough, where cars were torched, and Miznon restaurant, which was violently trashed, as antisemitic. 'The action at Lovitt Technologies was a legitimate target, because they provide military parts to F35 aircraft that are bombing civilians in Gaza right now,' said the speaker, whom this masthead has attempted to identify. She said Miznon in the CBD was also a valid target, because of part-owner Shahar Segal's former role as a spokesman for the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been widely criticised over its role in the deaths of civilians trying to access food in the enclave. 'The Miznon restaurant [incident] was not antisemitic, because the mother----er that runs that place has direct ties to the GHF that is killing starving civilians,' she said. She did not say whether she believed the tactics in those two attacks were justified but condemned the East Melbourne synagogue attack, saying the protesters would never target a place of worship.
