Six key dates at centre of childcare rape allegations against Joshua Brown

Warning: This story contains graphic content.

Alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown is accused of sexually abusing babies and toddlers in day care on six key days between April 2022 and January 2023, and transmitting abuse material to a second man, court documents reveal.

On Tuesday, the Melbourne childcare worker’s case was pushed back until February next year to allow detectives more time to investigate, as a court heard that more charges were likely to be laid.

A court has granted detectives more time to investigate accused paedophile Joshua Brown.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

Brown is already facing 73 charges, including child rape, after the alleged discovery of a cache of child abuse material in May sparked an urgent police investigation into the 26-year-old and plunged Australia’s childcare sector into crisis.

Police allege Brown abused eight toddlers and babies at a Point Cook day-care centre, run by national private chain G8, on at least six days, and recorded himself contaminating children’s food with bodily fluids on December 2, 2022.

Detectives swooped after abuse material allegedly linked to Brown and the day-care centre was found on the phone of another man accused of raping a teenage boy in Hoppers Crossing, in a separate case in April. The man accused of that assault, Melbourne waste management worker Michael Simon Wilson, 36, does not work in childcare but has been charged with 45 counts of child abuse during the wider investigation, including bestiality and inciting someone to suicide.

Charge sheets released for both cases on Tuesday show that Brown is accused of producing and transmitting child abuse material on many of the same days that Wilson is charged with possessing it. That includes January 10, 2023, the same day Brown is also charged with raping a child.

The days Brown is accused of abusing children at Point Cook centre

• April 28, 2022
• May 31, 2022
• October 25,  2022
• December 2,  2022
• December 15, 2022
• January 10,  2023

In total, Wilson and Brown are charged with offences on at least six of the same days.

Between December 2024 and April this year, Wilson is also accused of sending material which led to the recipient suiciding.

Detectives allege they found further child abuse material on hard drives at both men’s homes during police raids.

Over a four-month period, from November to March, police say Wilson downloaded child abuse material. He is charged with the sexual penetration of an animal on June 17, 2022.

Meanwhile, detectives are continuing to investigate Brown’s time working at more than 20 childcare centres across the state after it was revealed some providers had given incorrect records over to police. The police investigation has so far focused on further suspected abuse at Papilio Early Learning centre in Essendon, owned by large chain Affinity, where Brown worked until his arrest on May 12.

It is not clear how Brown and Wilson knew each other, but it is alleged the pair communicated via the encrypted app, Telegram.

Brown and Wilson were due to appear in court on September 15. But prosecutors applied to the court last week to extend the hearing, arguing the police investigation was still “premature”.

Brown will face court early next year after his barrister agreed that detectives could potentially discover evidence of further offending and more charges could be laid.

The accused men, who are both in custody, were excused from appearing in the packed Magistrates Court on Tuesday for the administrative application.

Magistrate Donna Bakos approved the extension, which was not contested by Brown’s or Wilson’s lawyers.

Brown’s committal mention is set for February 10, 2026, while Wilson, arrested in April, is due to appear on November 15.

Brown’s barrister, Rishi Nathwani, KC, fought to suppress publication of the details of the charges against Brown, arguing it could deny the 26-year-old the right to a fair trial.

“There is a lot for the police to deal with, it is premature, there is quite a long way to go,” the high-profile silk said.

But the magistrate denied Nathwani’s request, pointing out that charges were a matter of public record.

“They are the charges before the court, they are the charges keeping each accused in custody, and that fair and accurate reporting at this stage requires the nature of the charges to be released,” Bakos said.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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