5 days ago
More than 100 families consider legal action against childcare centres in wake of Joshua Brown sex abuse allegations
'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,' a spokesperson said.
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Harris said the firm had been contacted by families whose children were alleged victims as well as parents who had been told to get their child tested for STIs.
'Those parents are traumatised, a lot of them. One parent is ringing me saying the other one can't get out of bed; 'We've taken [the child] for testing, had to hold our children down screaming for blood tests'. Some of them have had more intimate examinations than that.
'It's difficult to explain to [the children] why.'
Harris said some parents were now worried whether their child's nappy rash or recurrent urinary tract infections might be related to the scandal.
'They don't know. It's difficult because the kids can't verbalise it,' she said.
A parent whose two-year-old and 18-month-old attended Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Keilor while Brown worked there told The Age that authorities had advised them to seek medical testing for their children.
The parent, who wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitivities of the case, said that, in the absence of information, parents were trying to use childcare app Storypark to check whether Brown had had contact with their child, but posts with Brown in them had been removed.
'Photos of Joshua Brown with children – including our own – have been deleted. When questioned, Affinity stated the reason was to avoid appearing to 'promote paedophilia', which we found highly inappropriate and alarming,' the parent said.
They said the removal of posts raised concerns about the accuracy and preservation of information that could be critical to understanding what had happened.
'This has been an incredibly distressing and traumatic experience for our family,' they wrote.
Harris said dozens of families had contacted their childcare centre, desperate for information, but centres had provided very little details.
She said the apps had given parents the opportunity to look at past photos to see if the alleged abuser had worked alongside their children.
In a letter sent to families who have children in Affinity Group childcare centres on Friday, chief executive Tim Hickey said they had a zero-tolerance approach to abuse or misconduct involving children, and that posts and photos were being removed from Storypark on the request of families.
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'All images have been shared with police. The images have been archived, not permanently deleted.'
A G8 spokesperson said the company was co-operating with police and relevant authorities. She said G8's focus was supporting affected children, families and staff.
'To support our families, confidential counselling and support is available through G8 Education's dedicated provider, we are waiving all fees charged for absences and any family who chooses to end care has had their notice period waived.'
