Accused abuser worked after childcare misconduct claims

Yahoo

a day ago

State officials have defended their handling of an accused pedophile childcare worker's case after it was revealed he was allowed to continue working with kids despite substantiated claims of misconduct.
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.
Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward defended the government's response but deflected questions about why Brown was allowed to continue working with children in various centres until May.
"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