Karl Stefanovic clashes with advocate calling for males to be banned from childcare centres after man charged with disturbing offences

Sky News AU

03-07-2025

Today Show host Karl Stefanovic has clashed with an advocate calling for male staff to be banned from working in childcare centres.
The on-air debate comes after Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged by police on Tuesday with sexually abusing children at a Melbourne childcare centre.
The 70 alleged offences Mr Brown has been charged with have sparked a controversial debate on whether men should be allowed to work in childcare centres.
Child abuse victims' advocate Louise Edmonds who is the founding member of the Independent Collective of Survivors clashed with Stefanovic over the controversial call to ban men from working in childcare centres.
'Banning male workers is a pretty extreme call, isn't it?' Stefanovic asked.
Ms Edmonds conceded it was 'extreme'.
'But the thing is, we're now seeing this is the third case of huge amounts of children being exposed to alleged pedophiles and alleged child sex abuses in a childcare centre,' she said.
She noted that men made up fewer than 8 per cent of the childcare industry.
Stefanovic hit back and insisted men 'have a right to work in that area'.
'And so many of them are dedicated. The perception is already hard enough for them. And when a story like this happens, it makes it even more difficult for them. They're dedicated professionals,' he said.
'Yes they are,' Ms Edmonds said.
'And without, you know, staining all the good men who are in there wanting to be positive role models for the young boys who are in daycare centres, there are some measures that can be taken.
'We actually have to look at the safety first and foremost of our most vulnerable citizens, which are our children, and a lot of them are voiceless.
'So children start communicating well at around two years old. The children under two years old, they cannot speak."
Stefanovic argued it was a 'sensitive topic and protection of kids is the utmost importance, but when you're talking about inequality, banning men just for being men, that's the very definition of it'.
Ms Edmonds stood by her word and said there is a "sad reality" where there is so much lived experience and evidence and data around child sex offenders, and 97 per cent of them are male.
'And this is a scary topic and a lot of people, we don't want to talk about it because it's so horrific when it comes to the abuse of children," she said.
The advocate said a measure that could be put in place 'literally overnight' would be a waiver for parents to opt-in or out of having a male carer look after their child.
On Wednesday, Today Extra host Sylvia Jeffreys called for the Albanese government to ensure this issue is at the top of their agenda.
'The parents who are going through this this morning, it needs to be at the top of ... the federal government's agenda today and tomorrow and every day until we see change,' Jeffreys said.
Mr Brown, from Point Cook, was charged with sexual activity in presence of a child under 16, sexual assault of a child under 16 and possessing child abuse material for use through a carriage service.
Police are alleging the children targeted were aged between five months and two years and worked at 20 childcare centres since entering the industry in 2017.
Mr Brown has remained in custody since his arrest in May.
All the centres he previously worked at have been compiled into a list and released to the 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 parents to have their children screened for infectious diseases, depending on their potential exposure during the period of alleged offending.
A parent of one of Mr Brown's possible alleged victims spoke to the ABC about the 'sickening' moment they were informed their child may have been abused.
When the child's mother received the email notifying her of the alleged crimes her heart 'just fell through my stomach'.
'(It's) heartbreaking. It's just these pure little innocent kids,' she told ABC's 7.30.
'My kids were enrolled at one of the daycare centres that was impacted. Thankfully, it was only one day that he was at that centre.'
Meanwhile, a second man, Michael Simon Wilson, was charged as part of a major probe into child sex abuse in Melbourne.
He is reportedly known to Mr Brown and is facing 45 charges including rape and possession of child abuse material.
Mr Wilson's charges are not related to any childcare centre and involve different alleged victims.
Fresh details emerged on Thursday after Mr Wilson was reportedly seeking threesomes on a casual sex site before he was arrested as part of a significant investigation.
Both Mr Wilson and Mr Brown are due to face Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 15.