Latest news with #Joshua Dale Brown
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Results in for childcare kids tested for sexually transmitted infections
All children tested for sexually transmitted infections in connection with an accused childcare pedophile have so far tested negative, the Victorian government said. About 2000 children required testing as part of a police investigation into alleged child abuser Joshua Dale Brown. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll told reporters on Wednesday that the latest advice came from health authorities. 'I think they've tested just about everyone — but I can get that clarified — and all the tests have been negative,' he said. 'This is something we hoped for and wished for.' Mr Brown, 26, is facing more than 70 charges, including sexual activity in presence of a child under 16, sexual assault of a child under 16 and possessing child abuse material. He has yet to enter pleas to the charges. The charges involve eight children, aged between five months and two years, between April 2022 and January 2023. As a precaution, testing was required for children who attended all of the centres where he worked. Mr Brown worked at 23 childcare centres in Melbourne between January 2017 and May 2025. It was revealed on Tuesday in court that more charges could be laid. High-profile barrister Rishi Nathwani appeared in court as prosecutors requested additional time to prepare a hand-up brief of their evidence against Mr Brown. Mr Brown did not appear in court for the brief hearing. Magistrate Donna Bakos approved the request for police to provide their case to Mr Brown's lawyers by December 4. The court was told police had provided a sworn affidavit in support of the delay, which was unopposed by Mr Nathwani. The barrister said the affidavit was 'helpful and detailed' in setting out the significant investigational steps police still need to undertake. Mr Nathwani also flagged the informant — the detective who laid the charges — had written that there was the potential for further charges and amendments to the existing charges. Mr Brown is expected to return to court in February.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
All STD results negative in childcare screening so far, says Victorian minister
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted diseases in relation to accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian government says. Deputy premier Ben Carroll provided an update on Wednesday morning on the testing exercise of about 2,000 children being undertaken as part of a police investigation into the alleged 26-year-old child abuser. Mr Carroll said the latest advice he'd received had come from direct conversations with staff at the Royal Children's Hospital. "What we have been advised is there is no child that has been tested positive for an STD," he told reporters. "I think they've [hospital staff] tested just about everyone — but I can get that clarified — and all the tests have been negative." Mr Brown is facing more than 70 charges, including rape of children, sexual activity in the presence of a child and contaminating food. The charges, which were first made public on July 1, relate to eight children at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023. Out of caution, health authorities initially recommended STD screening for 1,200 children, taking in other centres where Brown has worked. They then later recommended testing for another 800 Brown is expected to be hit with further criminal charges, following a brief court hearing on Tuesday during which his lawyer Rishi Nathwani KC said his client's charges were "in flux". Charge sheets released by the Melbourne Magistrates' Court show Mr Brown faces 73 charges, including 28 of producing child abuse material, 24 of transmitting child abuse material, 13 of sexually touching a child under 16 and three of sexual penetration of a child under 12.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
As a male kinder teacher I agree more needs to be done to protect children. But the solution is not to vilify people like me
My name is David, and I am a kindergarten teacher. Every time I read another headline about Joshua Dale Brown, my stomach drops. It's not just the horror of the allegations themselves – though that's devastating enough. It's knowing that the parents of the children I teach are reading these same articles. It's imagining the quiet alarm they must feel, the questions they might not voice, the shadows of doubt that may now creep into what used to be trust. It's deeply personal. I know that as a man working in early childhood education, I already carry a weight of suspicion that my female colleagues never have to shoulder. I see the difference when I'm introduced at enrolment interviews. I am acutely aware of it when I approach a child crying in the yard. I feel the hesitation, however slight, before a parent leaves their child with me for the first time – not always, but often enough. And I get it – I do. We live in a world that has given them reason to be cautious. But it doesn't make it any less painful to live beneath that constant cloud of implication. What's unbearable is watching that cloud darken when allegations like those Brown is accused of surface. Suddenly, my choice to devote my professional life to the education and wellbeing of young children is subject to renewed scrutiny. Not for the quality of my care, my experience, or my qualifications – but because of my gender. Then along comes commentary suggesting my mere presence in this field is 'an uncomfortable truth'. That somehow, simply by being male, my motivations must be questioned, that perhaps there is something unnatural or dangerous in my desire to work with children. But it is worth considering the human impact of such claims. There are thousands of male educators like me, already battling systemic underrepresentation, isolation and the persistent pressure to prove we are safe, kind and worthy of trust. I have a seven-year-old son. He still believes the world is mostly good. Thankfully, he's not reading the news or some of the commentary around this case yet. But if he did – if he saw articles implying that men like his dad might only work with children because of deviant desires, what would that teach him about masculinity, about care, about empathy? And what are we teaching society when we double down on suspicion rather than taking a wider, structural view? The issue is not that men work in early childhood education. The issue is that predators can exist in every profession and our systems of oversight, training and reporting need to be stronger – not more discriminatory. I agree much more needs to be done to protect children. That's the very reason I do this work. But the solution is not to vilify or pathologise men who choose to care for and educate young children. The solution is to overhaul a fractured system – starting with the ridiculous patchwork of state-based regulations governing early childhood education and care in Australia. We need a unified, national approach that ensures consistency, accountability and support – for children and educators alike. We need robust, mandatory training in child protection for all educators, regardless of gender. We need professional standards that uphold child safety and the dignity of workers. We need appropriate reward and remuneration to encourage the very best to answer the call of early childhood education. And we need to acknowledge that good men in this field are not the problem – they are part of the solution. The toll of being a male early childhood educator is growing heavier. Not because I'm not proud of what I do – I am. Every day I see the positive impact I have in the lives of the children I teach. I see the bonds we build, the confidence they gain, the joy we share. But I'm tired of having to explain myself. I'm tired of the quiet stigma. And I'm angry that sensational headlines and speculative think-pieces chip away at the fragile progress we've made. Children deserve the best educators – regardless of gender. And the men who choose to work in this field deserve to do so without being seen as threats. Until we address this cultural bias and build a system that truly values care and education, we will keep failing both the children and the educators who care for them. David Kelly is a kindergarten teacher in Victoria
