What we know about the Melbourne childcare abuse allegations

Melbourne’s childcare system is in crisis after it was revealed a worker had been charged with abusing eight children in his care and that the Health Department had recommended more than 1200 children at centres he worked at be tested for sexually transmitted infections.

Here is everything we know about the situation so far.

Joshua Brown is alleged to have abused eight children who attended the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023.

Who is Joshua Brown, and what was he charged with?

He was arrested on May 12 after police allegedly linked him to a cache of child abuse material.

Police allege this material led them to identifying eight victims, who were between the ages of five months and two years, from the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, where Brown was working at the time of his arrest.

Brown was charged with more than 70 offences, including sexually penetrating a child under 12, attempting to sexually penetrate a child under 12, sexually assaulting a child under 16 and producing child abuse material.

He had a valid working with children check, which has since been cancelled, and no criminal history.

Since 2017, Brown has worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne. Before Creative Garden, he had worked at large childcare chains G8 Education and Affinity Education and done short-term relief work at other centres.

Very little is known about Brown – Age journalists could not find any social media accounts linked to him, and family and friends have so far refused to comment – but he has distinctive arm tattoos and ginger-coloured hair, which he often dyed different colours.

He lived in a rented townhouse in Point Cook with a male roommate and a cat. The home is now vacant.

On Tuesday, as detectives arrived at Papilio Childcare Centre in Essendon – where Brown has previously worked and where police are investigating whether more abuse occurred – families picking up their children were still learning the news of his arrest.

What childcare centres did Brown work at?

You can see the childcare centres in the graphic below, but there are 20 in total across Melbourne and Geelong.

Who is Michael Simon Wilson, the second man arrested?

Wilson’s charges are not related to any childcare facilities and involve different alleged victims to those identified in the case against Brown. However, Wilson and Brown are known to each other.

Police visit the Papilio Early Learning Centre in Essendon on Tuesday morning.

What can parents do if their child attended one of these centres?

The Health Department has contacted about 2600 families, parents and carers by text, email and letters about the case.

The government is advising families whether their children need to be tested for infections.

Why are children being tested for STIs?

Officials said the STI tests have been recommended “out of an abundance of caution” and based on the risk profile of each child.

Children who have not been asked to test for sexually infected diseases do not meet the risk profile designated by officials.

Police at Papilio Early Learning Essendon on Keilor Road in Essendon on Tuesday.

A police source told this masthead that Brown had tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease.

The testing is expected to involve a full STI screening, such as swabs and urine and blood tests.

Some STIs are diagnosed via the presence of bacteria in fluids such as saliva, while others are detected via antibodies in the blood.

A Health Department spokeswoman said the department would not comment on the specifics of suspected exposure to protect children’s sensitive health information.