Tests urged for 1,200 children after day-care worker charged with assault
Joshua Brown, a 26-year-old man from Point Cook in southwest Melbourne, was charged on May 12 with more than 70 offenses including sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child, as well as possessing and producing child abuse material, Victoria Police said in a statement Tuesday.
The charges relate to eight victims ranging from five months to 2 years old, who were placed at a Point Cook child care center between April 2022 and January 2023, police said.
The center has been identified as Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre, Point Cook by Victorian authorities. A total of 20 child care centers where Brown worked between January 2017 and May 2025, including some for as little as one day, have been named so parents can check whether they may have used the facilities during those dates, authorities said.
Acting commander of Victoria Police's Crime Command unit, Janet Stevenson, said in a news conference Tuesday that Brown was charged after a search warrant was carried out at his home.
She said Brown was not known to police before the investigation and had passed background checks to work with children in the state. 'He was a child care worker at the time of his arrest,' she said, adding that he was providing temporary child care cover in some cases, and may have held other roles throughout his employment.
Stevenson described the investigation as 'incredibly distressing and confronting,' in the police statement. 'The most important thing for our investigators was that we needed to identify the victims involved. These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community, and the conversations police have had to have with their families were no doubt life changing in the worst possible way.'
Victoria's chief health officer Christian McGrath said health authorities have contacted around 2,600 families who attended the relevant centers over the period of alleged offending. Around 1,200 children have been recommended to undergo screening for infectious diseases as a precaution due to a potential risk of exposure, he said, adding that the large figure is due to an 'abundance of caution' and to provide certainty for families.
McGrath declined to comment on the nature of the infectious diseases and if any of the victims or the accused had tested positive, citing private health information and the sensitive nature of the investigation.
'We do understand that this is another distressing element to this situation,' McGrath said, speaking at the same news conference Tuesday. 'Families and the wider community can be assured that the infections that the children were potentially exposed to can be treated with antibiotics and there is no broader public health risk to the community.'
At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest other staff members at any of the centers were involved or that any other alleged offenses have taken place outside the state of Victoria, police said in the statement. However detectives are also examining an allegation of an offense at a second child care center based in Essendon — another suburb of Melbourne — which is being investigated as a priority, police said.
Victorian authorities have set up a dedicated website and helpline for those affected, while testing will be carried out free of charge. Families will also be eligible for a payment of $3,292 (A$5,000) to help with alternative care arrangements and loss of earnings, the website said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she was 'sickened by these allegations of abuse' at the same news conference Tuesday alongside police and health officials.
'They are shocking and distressing, and my heart just breaks for the families who are living every parent's worst nightmare,' she said. 'As a parent too I can only imagine the unbearable grief and pain the affected families are experiencing right now.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Driver had 2 license suspensions before crash that killed NC woman, officials say
A North Carolina man has been convicted in a December 2023 crash that killed a 19-year-old riding in the passenger seat, officials said. Codey Phillip-Wayne Jones, 25, was found guilty of second-degree murder, felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired and reckless driving, Forsyth County District Attorney James O'Neill said in a June 27 news release. Jones' driver's license had been suspended twice before the December 2023 crash that killed Victoria Rose Brown, officials said. Both incidents resulting in his suspension happened on the same interstate where Brown died, officials said. McClatchy News was unable to reach Jones' attorney on June 30. On the evening of the crash, witnesses said they saw the Chevrolet Silverado Jones was driving swerving across lanes, trying to run other cars off the roadway, flashing his high beams, and slowing down and speeding up at 'erratic intervals,' according to officials. After a small, red truck passed Jones' vehicle, he sped up — going 30 mph over the speed limit — and hit it, officials said. This caused Jones' truck to crash into a concrete median and roll over several times, according to officials. Brown was ejected from the truck in the crash and died at the scene, officials said. In an interview with law enforcement, Jones admitted to not having working airbags or seat belts in his truck, saying he never got them replaced after a prior crash, according to officials. He told investigators he put seat belt buckles he got at a junkyard in the receiver 'to avoid the car's alerts while driving,' according to officials. The investigation also found Jones was driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.18 percent, 0.10 over the legal limit, officials said. Brown did not have alcohol in her system, officials said. Jones was sentenced to a maximum of over 20 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and more than three months on the driving while impaired charge, officials said. 'Prior to sentencing, (Brown's) mother, Deanna Davis, delivered a moving and emotional victim impact statement to the Court. Mrs. Davis expressed the loss and heartbreak her family has suffered because of this tragedy,' officials said. Brown was remembered as having a 'joyous personality' that made everyone who met her fall in love, according to an online memorial. 'We'll continue to spread her story, let people know who she was,' Bree Thorpe, one of Brown's friends, told WXII. '... That way, her light is still shown in this world, even though she's no longer with us.'
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Washington Post
Tests urged for 1,200 children after day-care worker charged with assault
Authorities in Australia have recommended about 1,200 young children undergo health screening, after a man who worked at a string of child care centers in the state of Victoria was charged with more than 70 offenses including sexual assault. Joshua Brown, a 26-year-old man from Point Cook in southwest Melbourne, was charged on May 12 with more than 70 offenses including sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child, as well as possessing and producing child abuse material, Victoria Police said in a statement Tuesday. The charges relate to eight victims ranging from five months to 2 years old, who were placed at a Point Cook child care center between April 2022 and January 2023, police said. The center has been identified as Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre, Point Cook by Victorian authorities. A total of 20 child care centers where Brown worked between January 2017 and May 2025, including some for as little as one day, have been named so parents can check whether they may have used the facilities during those dates, authorities said. Acting commander of Victoria Police's Crime Command unit, Janet Stevenson, said in a news conference Tuesday that Brown was charged after a search warrant was carried out at his home. She said Brown was not known to police before the investigation and had passed background checks to work with children in the state. 'He was a child care worker at the time of his arrest,' she said, adding that he was providing temporary child care cover in some cases, and may have held other roles throughout his employment. Stevenson described the investigation as 'incredibly distressing and confronting,' in the police statement. 'The most important thing for our investigators was that we needed to identify the victims involved. These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community, and the conversations police have had to have with their families were no doubt life changing in the worst possible way.' Victoria's chief health officer Christian McGrath said health authorities have contacted around 2,600 families who attended the relevant centers over the period of alleged offending. Around 1,200 children have been recommended to undergo screening for infectious diseases as a precaution due to a potential risk of exposure, he said, adding that the large figure is due to an 'abundance of caution' and to provide certainty for families. McGrath declined to comment on the nature of the infectious diseases and if any of the victims or the accused had tested positive, citing private health information and the sensitive nature of the investigation. 'We do understand that this is another distressing element to this situation,' McGrath said, speaking at the same news conference Tuesday. 'Families and the wider community can be assured that the infections that the children were potentially exposed to can be treated with antibiotics and there is no broader public health risk to the community.' At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest other staff members at any of the centers were involved or that any other alleged offenses have taken place outside the state of Victoria, police said in the statement. However detectives are also examining an allegation of an offense at a second child care center based in Essendon — another suburb of Melbourne — which is being investigated as a priority, police said. Victorian authorities have set up a dedicated website and helpline for those affected, while testing will be carried out free of charge. Families will also be eligible for a payment of $3,292 (A$5,000) to help with alternative care arrangements and loss of earnings, the website said. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she was 'sickened by these allegations of abuse' at the same news conference Tuesday alongside police and health officials. 'They are shocking and distressing, and my heart just breaks for the families who are living every parent's worst nightmare,' she said. 'As a parent too I can only imagine the unbearable grief and pain the affected families are experiencing right now.'
CBS News
18 hours ago
- CBS News
Officials urge health screening for 1,200 children after Australian child care worker charged with rape, abuse
About 1,200 families have been urged by police in Australia to have their children tested for infectious diseases after a child care worker in Melbourne was charged with multiple sexual assault offenses againgst eight children. Joshua Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 offenses, including child rape and attempted rape and possession of child sexual abuse material, the Victoria Police said in a statement Tuesday. "The most important thing for our investigators was that we needed to identify the victims involved," Acting Commander Janet Stevenson of the Victoria Police's Crime Command said Tuesday. "These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community and the conversations police have had to have with their families were no doubt life changing in the worst possible way." Victoria state Police Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam, center, acting Police Commander Janet Stevenson, left, and Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan, appear at a news conference in Melbourne, Australia, July 1, 2025. Reuters/AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION The charges relate to eight alleged victims from one child care centre in the Melbourne suburb of Point Cook, between April 2022 and January 2023, but authorities fear more children may have been affected. Brown worked at more than 20 child care centers in the region between 2017 and his arrest in May 2025, according to the police. Detectives are investigating, "as a priority," evidence of possible further offenses by Brown during his time at another child care center in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon. In total, some 2,600 families whose children attended the two institutions during Brown's employment have been contacted, with authorities recommending 1,200 children be tested for certain diseases due to the "manner of the alleged offending," state health authorities said. "As a precaution, we are recommending that some children undergo testing for infectious diseases due to a potential exposure risk in that period," Victoria Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said at a news conference on Tuesday. "We do believe it's a low risk, but we want to offer this to provide assurance to the parents about the health and wellbeing of their children." McGrath didn't specify which diseases the health department had recommended testing for, but said they could be treated with antibiotics. The police said they believe Brown acted alone, and only within the state of Victoria. He had a valid certification to work with children in the state, and was not known to police prior to his arrest in May, after detectives discovered he had child abuse material. Top Victoria state official, Premier Jacinta Allan, said in a statement Tuesday that she was "sickened by these allegations of abuse. They are shocking and distressing." "My heart breaks for those families who are living every parent's worst nightmare," she added. "As a parent I can only imagine the unbearable pain and distress the affected families are feeling." Brown, who has been in custody since May and has yet to enter a plea to the charges, is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sept. 15.
