‘Never hear of women doing this’: Geelong parents pull kids from daycare amid child sex abuse allegations

Geelong parents are pulling children from daycare in the wake of the alleged atrocities from an accused pedophile, fuelling fears over male educators in the industry.

Geelong parents are pulling children from daycare in the wake of the alleged atrocities from an accused pedophile, fuelling fears over male educators in the industry.

Calls for men to be banned from working in childcare have escalated after worker Joshua Dale Brown was accused of committing 70 child sex abuse offences.

The allegations have rocked the sector as the list of centres and dates the alleged predator was employed continues to grow.

Melbourne alleged child sex abuser Joshua Dale Brown. Picture Supplied.

Geelong father, Brett, who did not want to use his real name, said he was withdrawing his child from a Bellarine Peninsula facility because it employed a man.

“The idea of him being alone with my son has always bugged me, even before all of this,” he said.

“I think men should be banned, women don’t do this. You never hear of women doing this to kids, do you?

“After everything we are learning about this alleged pedophile I’m just going to mitigate the risk.”

While women do commit child sexual abuse, a study published by the Australian Institute of Criminology shows men account for 98.3 per cent of child sex offenders in this country.

“Some child sex offenders go to great lengths to have access to large numbers of children to abuse and in some cases even choose their employment based on this,” the study reads.

“It is clear that although women have far more opportunities than men to abuse children — as primary carers of children in the home and in child-centred occupations such as childcare and teaching — these opportunities are rarely acted on.”

Another Torquay mum, who did not want to be named, said she’d pulled her son from a centre as a direct result of the alleged crimes of Mr Brown.

“We’ve only ever had our kids in daycare for one day a week,” she said.

“My husband and I are both uncomfortable with it full stop after all of this, and I’m sure we are not alone.”

However, many parents don’t have that luxury.

Dean Evans, whose child was exposed to Mr Brown at the Leopold World of Learning in February 2023, said his family relied on daycare so both parents could work.

Mr Brown worked at the Leopold World of Learning.

His daughter returned a negative result after being tested for sexually transmitted infections as a precaution last week.

Despite the “unbelievable stress” of the past fortnight, he sympathised with men working in the industry.

“It only takes one to ruin if for everyone else, but it has confirmed your fear that it is possible,” he said.

“The hiring process needs to be more rigorous and on site safety precautions have to be improved.

“That is very obvious.”

It comes as Education Minister Jason Clare shut down calls for a blanket ban on men in the industry as the government looks to fast-track new child safety laws in the first week of parliament, from July 22.

“In none of the reports do they recommend this (barring men),” he said.

“But they recommend the register and national mandatory safety training, so that the 99.9 per cent of people who work in our centres who are good, honest people … have the skills they need to identify if the person is up to no good.”

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. Picture: Supplied

One Geelong industry insider said male educators were vital for children without good father figures at home.

“It is important for many children that there is a positive male role model at daycare,” he said. “Unfortunately, the persecution of men is going to drive a lot of the good ones in the industry away.”

Male educator Nick Stephens previously told News many children at his Sydney-based centre were “desperately short of fathers”.

“For a lot of the boys you’re their substitute dad,” he said.

Georgie Dent, chief executive of advocacy group The Parenthood, also cautioned against barring men from the industry.

“At The Parenthood we support reform to make high quality early childhood education and care and banning men from being early educators is not part of that picture,” she said.

United Workers Union director of early learning, Carolyn Smith, said while “everybody in the industry is upset”, banning male workers was not the answer.

It follows a move by Inspire Early Learning Journey to ban male workers from changing nappies in 16 Victorian child care centres.

ASX-listed company G8 Education, at the centre of the Point Cook sexual abuse claims, is installing CCTV at all centres and will give parents the chance to decide which staff can change their children’s nappies.

This includes the Leopold centre Mr Brown worked at.

His alleged offending was against eight children aged five months to two years while employed at the Creative Garden Point Cook.

So far, he has worked at 23 different centres in Melbourne and Geelong between 2017 and 2025.

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Originally published as ‘Never hear of women doing this’: Geelong parents pull kids from daycare amid child sex abuse allegations