Latest news with #publichealthwarning
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
The touching family album snaps that reveal how accused childcare monster grew up in the embrace of a loving home - which is now reeling at the growing list of charges against him
A man accused of sickening child sex offences in daycare centres was the product of a loving home and family. It can be revealed Joshua Dale Brown, 26, grew up with his parents Doug and Tracey and a younger sister whom Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name. Doug Brown, 56, nicknamed Dinosaur, is a respected member of Victoria's baseball community, where he continues to coach children at a club in Melbourne's western suburbs. Several officials from the Sunshine Baseball Club were contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Friday, but no responses to a series of questions were provided. On Tuesday, Joshua Brown again fronted Melbourne Magistrates' Court where details of 73 child sex offences were made public. Charge sheets released to the media showed police allege Brown is accused of committing 18 offences on a single day while working at a Point Cook centre, in Melbourne 's west. The charges linked to that day include multiple counts of sexually touching an unknown child aged under 16, engaging in a sexual activity in the presence of an unknown child under the age of 16, and the production and transmission of child abuse material. Among the most shocking allegations is that, on December 2, 2022, the former childcare worker contaminated food with bodily fluids. It is this alleged crime that sparked a massive public health warning, with the parents of 2,000 children urged by authorities to have them tested for infectious diseases after Joshua Brown's alleged offending was revealed on July 1. It can be revealed that the alleged sex offender's family continues to live in the family home in Point Cook where he grew up. On Friday, his younger sister was seen leaving the home just after dawn. While Daily Mail Australia attempted to make contact with the Brown family, no one answered the door and a calling card was ignored. The Brown family's social media pages indicate Joshua Brown had been a loved and treasured member of the family. Images show a young Joshua Brown, before the distinct arm tattoos he now bears, at family events. In one, he appears to be enjoying a camping adventure with his father and friends. In another, he poses alongside his sister and a group of girls. Another shows Joshua Brown in the arms of his mum alongside his sister. It is understood Joshua Brown did not share a love of baseball in the same way as his father and younger sister still do. Mr Brown is local baseball legend after he started playing the sport at the age of six and continued on for 39 years before retiring in 2014. He made a name for himself at Footscray before moving to Sunshine in the 1990s. A player profile indicated his preferred fielding positions were third base and catcher. He also represented Australia in the Provincial League. He was named one of the club's top 21 players of all time in 2013. Mr Brown continues to be an active member of the club where he has played a leading role in coaching junior teams. Joshua Brown's mother was previously outed as a prison guard who became involved in a tragic death in custody case. Images captured of her in 2022 showed her alongside Doug and her daughter. The image was captioned by their daughter: 'I'm their favourite'. In 2022, in an unrelated case, Ms Brown appeared at an inquest into the death of Veronica Nelson, 37, an Indigenous woman who died in her cell at Melbourne's Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in January 2020. Ms Brown was the last person to speak to Ms Nelson, and the inquest heard she lied to the inmate 'multiple times' about medical help coming to help her. The inquest said Ms Nelson's death was preventable, but an autopsy found her cause of death was attributable to Wilkie's Syndrome in the context of opiate withdrawal. It made no findings againt Ms Brown. In an interesting twist, Ms Brown had been grilled during that inquest by top Melbourne barrister Rishi Nathwani, KC, who acted for Aunty Donna Nelson at the time. On Tuesday, Mr Nathwani was now acting for Joshua Brown, arguing that his client's charge sheets be withheld from the media. During that hearing, Mr Nathwani revealed the case against Joshua Brown remained very much 'in flux'. An affidavit supplied by detectives to the court said the investigation was incomplete and needed more time to compile the final brief of evidence against Brown. 'Your honour has had the benefit of the affidavit which indicates that the police are working very hard,' Mr Nathwani said. Brown's co-accused, Michael Simon Wilson, 36, faces 45 charges ranging from rape to possession of child abuse material, transmission and production, as well as 'sexually penetrating an animal, namely a dog'. Doug Brown was named a junior coach in April The relationship between Wilson, who is not a childcare worker, and Brown remains unclear. Charge sheets indicated both men are facing charges that were allegedly committed on the same dates, including on April 28, 2022, when Brown allegedly committed multiple counts of producing child abuse material, and Wilson allegedly committed multiple counts of possessing and accessing child abuse material. Both men will reappear in court on separate dates, with Brown not due back until February next year.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Northamptonshire health teams issue contaminated drugs warning
A county's public health leaders have issued a warning about contaminated drugs circulating at festivals and parties over the North and West Northamptonshire councils said some drugs bought off the street or online could be as much as 10 times stronger and could cause serious harm or 18-year-old told the BBC he saw a friend hospitalised after taking contaminated Bethea, director of public health at North Northamptonshire Council, said: "The risks to inexperienced or recreational drug users are increased by the rapidly changing drug market." The councils warned that by buying illegal drugs, users "can't be sure what is in them or the effect they will have". Ms Bethea said: "Festivals are a particular setting of concern given there can be a number of street drugs circulating at these events, and those that take them may be inexperienced or experimenting for the first time, and so have low tolerance."She said there were particular issues with potent synthetic opioids, such as nitazenes, being mis-sold, and high availability of contaminated Gay, director of public health at West Northamptonshire Council, said: "Your drugs may look the same, even if they are contaminated, so I urge all recreational drug users to stop and think, and if they go ahead then to abide by the advice."The councils are working with charities such as Change Grow Live and Ngage on the White, from Ngage, said: "We have young people who are ending up in A&E because of contaminated substances."It is really shocking actually how many of our young people it is affecting." 'He started seizing on the floor' Deano is a former drug user who now works with 18-year-old from Northamptonshire, who did not want to give his surname, said he started taking drugs to help him told BBC Radio Northampton's Annabel Amos: "I am a massive insomniac, always have been."Also, I've got ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], so they bounce off each other."So that's what I initially started using substances for."He said when buying drugs "there's always going to be a risk" they could be said when he was 16, he was with a friend, who was about his age and took what he thought was ketamine, but the substance also contained amphetamine and fentanyl - a powerful said: "He was bugging around for a bit, getting all excited because of the amphetamines and then what I assume happened is the fentanyl took over after that."He started seizing on the floor, foaming [at the mouth] and he got taken away by ambulance."It's still a shock because you don't know what they've taken."His friend later recovered and now Deano is working towards rebuilding his life and has applied to college. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
