Latest news with #ArnoldThomasBecker
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Almost 200 distressed parents are turning to legal help after the shock allegations of child sex offences by a childcare worker
Parents of children who had to be tested for STIs after a childcare worker was accused of dozens of sickening offences have been driven to quit work. Joshua Dale Brown, 26, has been charged with more than 70 child abuse offences, including the sexual penetration of a child and producing child abuse material. The alleged offences occurred during Brown's employment at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook, where he worked from October 2021 to February 2024. Last week, an urgent warning from the Victorian Department of Health and Victoria Police horrified the parents of 1,200 children who were told to get them tested for infectious diseases. Days later, on Thursday, almost 200 parents filled a room at Sanctuary Lakes Function Centre in Point Cook, in southwest Melbourne, to discuss legal action. The crowd were very emotional during the event which had been organised by high-profile Victorian law firm Arnold Thomas & Becker. Many broke down in tears and felt overwhelmed by the lack of information. Some raised concerns there was a lack of accountability by childcare centres, the government and the police. Principal lawyer Jodie Harris heard from some parents who had to give up work to stay home with their children and have said they are 'suffering their own mental health conditions'. She told Daily Mail Australia they are 'so concerned that they've put their child in a position where they may have been abused'. 'A major red flag for us in considering actions on behalf of families is just the sheer amount of access (Brown) had one-on-one with children to allow this alleged offending to occur.' The lawyer said the firm will be starting legal proceedings in the 'very near future', but added they are unsure whether it will be a class action suit. A GP from MyHealth Clinic in Point Cook, Dr Parul Solanki also attended the event to offer advice to parents on testing and how they should handle it. This included discussing the 'inconsistent' approach of the state government's health department which is understood to have asked some families to do urine tests and others to do blood test. Many questions were directed to the doctor around the process of testing and the 'injuries' caused to children as a result. The department declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia, pointing to its FAQ page offering information to parents. A spokesperson for Victoria Police said officers are working through further material provided over the past few days by childcare centres in relation to Brown's employment history. 'All of the childcare providers are cooperating fully with police on this matter,' they said. 'This assessment is being completed by police as a priority. 'We understand that many in the community are feeling concerned and anxious. 'However it is incredibly important that this information is confirmed, then thoroughly reviewed with other relevant agencies prior to any public release.' They said that, once the assessment is completed, authorities will seek to inform the impacted parties directly and also update the government website. The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with further information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers via the website or on 1800 333 000. Brown worked at 20 childcare centres over an eight-year period between January 2017 and May 2025. His Point Cook home was raided by police shortly after an investigation was launched earlier that same month. Police have said he was not known to them before his arrest and he had a valid Working With Children Check, which has since been cancelled. He will next appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 15.
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Reeling parents of children allegedly affected by 'worst nightmare' at daycare make huge legal move - as dad tells the most heartbreaking story you'll read today about taking his seven-year-old daughter to get an STI test
A grief-stricken father has described the harrowing STI test his young daughter had to endure after she was exposed to an alleged paedophile at a daycare centre. Melbourne 26-year-old Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with more than 70 child sex offences including the sexual penetration of a child and producing child abuse material. He was also charged with recklessly contaminate goods to cause alarm or anxiety, which is understood to refer to the alleged contamination of food with bodily fluids. The charges centre on Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook, where the accused worked between October 2021 and February 2024, though he also worked at more than a dozen other centres across Melbourne between 2017 and 2025. On Tuesday, the Victorian Department of Health and Victoria Police urged the parents of 1,200 children to have them tested for infectious diseases. Daily Mail Australia can reveal more than a dozen families have already approached a high-profile law firm in Victoria to seek compensation over the alleged actions of Brown while their children were under his care. Arnold Thomas and Becker Lawyers have confirmed they were contacted by a string of families about potential legal action. The news follows a Werribee father who spoke out on Thursday to describe how his seven-year-old daughter begged medical staff to stop as they administered an STI test. The Werribee father said both children and medical staff should never have had to go through such a traumatic process. 'My daughter was saying 'Daddy, this is really hurting me, make the lady stop',' he told the Herald Sun. 'You could visibly see the pathologist was upset, the receptionists were upset, the doctor was upset. Because they're all parents. It's affected everyone,' he said. All the parents involved have to wait an unknown amount of time to discover whether their children have any STIs. 'It's every bit as bad as you think it's going to be. Every time my phone rings … I get anxiety, every time it rings. It's constantly attached to my hand as we're waiting for that phone call.' Normal pathology tests return results within 48 hours but because these tests are part of a criminal investigation it is unclear how long it will for results to arrive. Health authorities had to contact more than 2,600 families after Brown was taken into custody. He had also begun working at Essendon Papilio Early Learning in the city's north on February 17 and was employed until just a few days before his arrest in May. Beginning Thursday regular updates are expected to become available online as investigators continue to trace the dates Brown worked between childcare centres. A spokesperson for Thomas and Becker Lawyers, which is assisting thousands of Victorians in cases over abuse as a child, said they think the number of families who will reach out to them about this is 'only going to grow'. 'We have already been contacted by a number of families who have been impacted by these shocking events,' principal lawyer Jodie Harris told Daily Mail Australia. 'Our thoughts are with the families affected, who are no doubt reeling from the shock and heartbreak of this news. 'It is truly incomprehensible that someone in a position of trust and care could prey on the most innocent members of our community.' She said that, while criminal proceedings are underway, families may have civil rights that entitle them to pursue compensation action. 'This includes the potential to seek compensation for injury. 'This could include medical expenses and potentially lump sum compensation.' Ms Harris added that it 'could be applicable for the impacted children and parents'. Civil claims can allow victims and family members to recover compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, financial loss, including superannuation and treatment expense. Ms Harris said that this civil compensation can sometimes be in the millions. Given the number of childcare centres the alleged offender worked across, Arnold Thomas and Becker is looking into the potential for a class action suit. But the firm said individual claims in this case may be a more appropriate avenue for the families impacted. Both options are being explored. Brown worked at a total of 20 childcare centres over an eight-year period between January 2017 and May 2025. Father of three, Satbir told AAP he went to the Point Cook childcare centre on Wednesday after recognising the alleged offender on the news. 'I dropped off my child into his hands a couple of times,' he said. 'I'm a bit worried, I (need) to find out everything. I've seen him in the classroom where I dropped my children.' Another parent of a child who attended the Point Cook centre from 2021 to 2023, who declined to give their name, received a generic response from authorities and later found the same information in the news. 'There's a lot of stress, it's very distressing so I needed to come and get some details,' he said. Further families may yet hear from authorities regarding the charges as investigators work to determine how early Brown had begun working at the daycare centres. Payroll information from Papilio Early Learning revealed Brown had been working at the centre on December 13, reports The Age. The publication also reported some parents recalling Brown working at Papilio as early as August 2024. These claims would mean any parents whose children came into contact with the alleged peadophile prior to February 17 are yet to receive an official notification from authorities about Brown's charges. He has remained in custody since his arrest in mid-May and his Point Cook home was raided by police shortly after an investigation was launched earlier that same month. Brown was not known to police before his arrest and had a valid Working With Children Check, which has since been cancelled. He will next appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 15. Police discovered evidence of the alleged horrific offending by the childcare worker while investigating 36-year-old Michael Simon Wilson. Wilson, from Hoppers Crossing, was charged with 45 child sex offences on Wednesday, including bestiality, rape and possession of child abuse material, according to court documents. It is understood Brown and Wilson are known to each other, but Wilson's charges are not related to any childcare centre and involve different alleged victims.
