Hundreds of children to be tested for disease after charge for rape of children

About 1,200 children are called to undergo infectious disease testing after a worker of children in Melbourne has been charged with a number of crimes, including childhood rape.

Joshua Dale Brown was arrested in May and faced 70 charges, with police saying he had abused eight children – including five -month -old – April 2022 and January 2023.

The 26-year-old has worked at 20 Children’s Centers since 2017, prompting local health authorities to notify parents of children who may have been in his care, recommending that many be tested as a “precaution”.

Joshua Brown is yet to face the fees and is left in custody. He is to appear in the Melbourne Magistrate Court in September.

The eight children, whom police claim to have been injured, were under two years old and visited a center for the child -rearing in a Melbourne suburb.

Joshua Brown has been charged with crimes of rape and sexual assault, as well as for the production and transfer of materials for abuse of children.

Detectives are also investigating his alleged crimes at a Children’s Center in Essendon, another Melbourne suburb, “as a priority.”

At a press conference, authorities said he had a valid job of checking children and was hired as a child raising worker when he was arrested.

Joshua Brown was not known to them before the investigation, they said, adding that they believe that he had acted alone and that the alleged insult had happened only in Victoria.

Discovering his identity was an “unusual solution,” said Janet Stevenson of Victoria’s police, but this is a “unique” case.

“It is very important to ensure that every parent there has a child in childcare, knows who he is and where he has worked,” she said.

Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath would not say that if the defendant had tested positively for sexually transmitted infections, but said the manner of suspected violation means that some children may be asked to undergo screening for infectious diseases.

About 2600 families were associated with 1,200 children recommended for testing, he said, adding that infections that children may have been exposed to can be treated with antibiotics.

Victorian premiere Jacinta Alan said she was “painful” by the accusations.

“My heart breaks up for the families who live the oldest nightmare of every parent,” she said.

Victoria families will be “angry and frightened” by the case, Alan said, adding that a specialized website was created for those affected.