Khadijah Shehu Abdulkareem
Australian authorities have recommended infectious disease testing for over 800 children across four childcare centres that had employed a man accused of a string of offences including child rape.
Around 1,200 children across 20 childcare centres were also asked to undergo testing as a precaution.
Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was arrested in May and faces 70 charges. Police allege that he abused eight children, aged between five months and two years old, from April 2022 to January 2023.
The update by police on Tuesday comes after four more childcare centres were added to a list of places Mr Brown had worked at between January 2017 and May 2025.
One centre was removed from the previous list after police found that Mr Brown did not work there.
Authorities did not reveal if Mr Brown had tested positive for sexually transmitted infections, but said that the manner in which the alleged offences had been carried out meant some children might be asked to undergo screening for infectious diseases.
Authorities said the potential risk of exposure to infectious diseases is “considered low”, and “testing results to date reaffirms this assessment”.
“We acknowledge how distressing this is for all families involved and everything possible is being done to provide the vital support now required,” a notice on the Victorian government website said.
The case has prompted shock and anger among parents – not just at Mr Brown’s alleged offences but also at what they say is a lapse in the government’s screening of childcare workers.
Mr Brown had a valid Working with Children Check – a mandatory screening process for people doing child-related work – and was employed as a childcare worker when he was arrested, authorities said.
Over the weekend, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mr Brown had managed to keep his working certificate despite being reported to state authorities two years ago for his behaviour at the childcare centre where he allegedly abused the eight children. The reports were unrelated to sexual misconduct.