Approximately 1,200 children are being encouraged to undergo testing for contagious diseases following the charging of a Paedophile Melbourne childcare worker, Joshua Dale Brown, with many offences, including child rape.
Joshua Dale Brown was apprehended in May and confronts 70 accusations, with law enforcement asserting that he maltreated eight infants, including a five-month-old, from April 2022 to January 2023.
The 26-year-old has been employed at 20 childcare centres since 2017, leading local health authorities to inform parents of any children who may have been under his supervision, advising that many get testing as a precautionary measure.
Joshua Dale Brown has not yet entered a plea to the charges and remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in September.
The eight youngsters, whom the police claim were victimised, were all under the age of two and attended a single daycare centre in a suburb of Melbourne.
Joshua Dale Brown is charged with child rape, sexual assault crimes, and the production and distribution of child abuse material.
Detectives are prioritising the investigation of alleged offences committed by him at a childcare centre in Essendon, another suburb of Melbourne.
During a news conference, officials stated that he possessed a valid working with children check and was employed as a daycare worker at the time of his detention.
Prior to the investigation, Joshua Dale Brown was unfamiliar to them; they asserted that he likely acted independently and that the purported offences occurred solely in Victoria.
Revealing his identity was an “unusual decision”, Victoria Police’s Janet Stevenson said, but this is a “unique” case.
“It’s very important to ensure that every parent out there that has a child in childcare knows who he is and where he worked,” she said.
Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath would not say if the accused man had tested positive to sexually transmitted infections, but said the manner of the alleged offending meant some children may be asked to undergo screening for infectious diseases.
About 2,600 families had been contacted, with 1,200 children recommended for testing, he said, adding that the infections that the children may have been exposed to can be treated with antibiotics.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she was “sickened” by the allegations.
“My heart breaks for the families who are living every parent’s worst nightmare,” she said.
Families across Victoria will be “angry and frightened” by the case, Allan said, adding that a dedicated website has been set up for those impacted.
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