Around 1,200 children are to undergo testing for infectious diseases after a Melbourne childcare worker, Joshua Dale Brown, was charged with a number of offences, including child rape.
On Tuesday, July 1, police confirmed that Brown was arrested in May and faced 70 charges.
Authorities alleged that he abused eight children, including a five-month-old, between April 2022 and January 2023.
The 26-year-old had worked at 20 childcare centres since 2017, forcing local health authorities to notify parents of children who might have been under his care.
Furthermore, they advised the guardians to test the children who attended childcare as a "precaution."
Brown, who is yet to enter a plea to the charges, has been held in custody and is due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court in September.
The eight children – all under the age of five – attended the Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, in Melbourne.
Charges included sexual assault offences and child rape, along with producing and transmitting child abuse content.
Authorities are also investigating potential offences by Brown at a childcare centre in Essendon.
At a press conference, detectives noted that the perpetrator had valid documentation to work with children and was employed as a fill-in childcare worker when he was arrested.
Victoria Police's Janet Stevenson, who called revealing Brown's identity an "unusual decision," shared, "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."
Notably, about 2,600 families had been contacted for the testing, and a dedicated website has been set up for those impacted.
