By Kate Ashton
A childcare provider has given new information to police updating the dates and locations an alleged child sex offender worked at its facilities after parents raised the alarm.
Warning: This story contains details of alleged child sex offences which may distress some audience members.
On Tuesday, police announced 26-year-old childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown had been charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims at a centre Point Cook in the city’s south-west.
Authorities also listed 20 centres where Mr Brown had worked and his “known employment dates”.
The incident has prompted the government to urge infectious diseases testing for about 1,200 children.
But some parents quickly became concerned Mr Brown had been at some centres on more days than those initially listed by Victorian authorities.
The ABC has been contacted by a parent of one child from the Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Keilor, which is operated by Affinity Education, as well as a parent from a second centre operated by the same for-profit childcare giant, who both fear the dates listed for their centres are not comprehensive.
Mr Brown was listed working at both centres for a short duration only — including just one day at the Keilor centre — but both parents from the two Affinity-run centres said they believe he worked at their child’s centre for longer.
The parent from the Keilor centre showed the ABC photos featuring Mr Brown, which were accessed through an app used by the centre to share updates about children with parents.
“They said he was there for only one day, but after flicking through the Story Park [app] yesterday with a few parents, he was there for several days,” the parent said.
Mr Brown has been remanded in custody and will face court in September.
Concerns about date discrepancies at second Affinity-run centre
A parent of a child at a second Affinity-run centre, who did not want the location of their child’s centre to be identified, also believed Mr Brown was working at the centre on more days then were listed on the government website.
They said other parents from the centre shared her concerns.
“Parents and families have the right to know if their child could have been in contact with this person,” the parent said.
The same parent said because Mr Brown was only listed as working at the centre on certain days, only one of their children was listed for the government’s testing program.
The parent said they had reached out for private testing.
In a statement to the ABC, Affinity said it was reviewing the dates Mr Brown, who is understood to have worked at 20 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025, was on shift at its facilities.
The ABC understands Affinity provided payroll data relating to Mr Brown as part of the initial police investigation but has today provided authorities with updated information about his work history.
“Affinity Education continues to cooperate fully with authorities and remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of the children and families in our care,” a spokesperson said.
When asked about the potential date discrepancies, Victoria Police said in a statement that its investigation was ongoing and any updates to what is known about Mr Brown’s employment history would be updated via the government website.
“That information including dates and locations was released on Tuesday, based on what was known at that point in time,” a Victoria police spokesperson.
The below table shows the dates listed on Tuesday, which remains unchanged as of Thursday midday.
The website also includes a disclaimer that the sites and dates are subject to change.
Victoria police said information in the table was compiled in relation to records from Mr Brown’s employment history.
If further potential exposure risks were identified, the Department of Health said it would contact additional families recommended for testing.
Parents receiving different text messages about testing recommendation
Among the 70 charges laid against Mr Brown is an allegation he contaminated food with bodily fluids.
Multiple parents have raised concerns with the ABC that children who attended the same centre had been recommended for testing for different transmitted diseases.
Some text messages from the Department of Health have recommended the children be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, while others have also listed syphilis.
When asked about the different messages on Wednesday, Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said the referrals for testing were based on “specific recommendations to individuals around their private health information”.
“The advice that people have been given is based on their risk assessment,” Dr McGrath said.
“I want to provide assurance to those 1,200 families where we’ve recommended screening and testing, that this is a high precautionary measure.
“The risk is low but there’s not no risk, which is why we’re making this recommendation.”