Former colleague of Joshua Dale Brown says they raised concerns over unsupervised children

News.com.au

6 hours ago

A former worker at a centre where Joshua Brown is accused of abusing children said she raised concerns about children being unsupervised at the centre three years ago, claiming some even wandered into empty rooms and played in bathrooms with no one noticing.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, worked with Brown at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook in 2022, Victoria.
In an email to the Victorian Department of Education, seen by news.com.au, the worker criticised the practices and procedures at the centre, saying 'supervision itself was lacking', and 'it wasn't uncommon for a child to wander into the empty room next door without anyone noticing, or for children to be playing with water in the bathrooms unsupervised also, or one educator to be left alone outside with over 20 children during the rest time'.
Unrelated to the police case against Brown, she said she was 'worried about the safety of the children at this service as well as the staff who are not being supported very well'.
The worker said she witnessed 'many times' when the room was left 'out of ratio or just on', despite the amount of children with additional needs who required more supervision.
'I am worried about the safety of the children at this service as well as the staff who are not being supported very well.'
The woman reached out after news of Brown's alleged offences at the centre.
'I don't feel comfortable coming out in public about this and I'll be contacting the right channels but I feel like it needs to be known I did placement at the centre the guy from the news was at for the longest time in 2022 (Creative Gardens Point Cook) at the time he was there,' she wrote.
'I feel sick'.
The Victorian Department of Health have been contacted for comment, but said the active police investigation into Brown prevented them from commenting.
G8 Education, who runs Creative Garden Early Learning Centre has been contacted for comment.
Brown is facing 70 charges in total, including sexual penetration of a child, producing child abuse material and recklessly contaminating goods to cause alarm or anxiety. No pleas have been entered.
Detectives raided the 26-year-old's home, allegedly uncovering a cache of child abuse material.
The disturbing discovery set off an intensive effort to identify eight children, some as young as five months old, whom Brown is accused of abusing and filming.
The allegations centre on Brown's time at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between 2022 and 2023.
However Brown worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017, which are now listed on the government website.
News.com.au revealed Brown is accused of contaminating food with body fluid, sparking an urgent health warning to 1200 families who are now having their small children tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
A new wave of parents have since been thrown into the hell of wondering whether their children have been exposed to an alleged sex abuser after centres across Melbourne alerted families Brown had also worked at their centres.
Childcare providers confirmed they were working with police, handing over rosters and other employment details to help investigators track the movements of Brown.
Distressed parents have contacted news.com.au desperate for dates to know whether their children have come into contact with him.
Police sources described the active investigation as a 'moving beast' as they examined the records, including photos of Brown at work on particular days and helped navigate the dissemination of information to parents across Melbourne.