Accused pedophile was sacked from another childcare centre

Confirmation of accused pedophile Joshua Dale Brown’s 2021 dismissal comes as three Melbourne families whose children were allegedly sexually abused by him prepare to sue childcare group G8 Education.

Alleged pedophile Joshua Brown. Wallaby Childcare Centre has confirmed in a statement it had sacked Mr Brown from its Sanctuary Lakes centre after about five weeks while he was on probation. Picture: supplied

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Accused pedophile Joshua Brown was fired from a childcare operator in the months before he allegedly abused children at another centre - the second dismissal revealed in as many days.

Small operator Wallaby Childcare Centre confirmed in a statement it had sacked Mr Brown from its Sanctuary Lakes centre after about five weeks in April and May 2021 while he was on probation.

“The alleged offender worked at our service for a brief period of time, 5 weeks, in April-May 2021. He was terminated in probation as we felt he did not align with our company standards or values,” Wallaby management said in a statement.

“As this is an active and ongoing police investigation we don’t want to make further comments and jeopardise any aspects of the investigation.”

From October 2021, up until February 2024, Victoria Police allege he committed 70 child sex offences against eight children aged between five months and two years of age while working at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook, owned by childcare giant G8 Education.

On Thursday, it came to light that Mr Brown’s employment was terminated from Nido Early School’s Werribee centre, owned by Nido Education Limited, where he worked in June and July 2021, for “unsatisfactory attention by the individual to an incident report concerning a child’s behaviour towards another child”.

“The action did not relate to any behaviour by the individual towards a child,” Nido said in a statement to media.

G8 Education also investigated Mr Brown twice for matters unrelated to child sexual abuse.

It comes as three Melbourne families whose children were allegedly sexually abused by Mr Brown are preparing to sue =G8 Education, with one claim to be filed as early as next week.

An image of Joshua Brown.

Principal lawyer Jodie Harris at Arnold Thomas and Becker is preparing three separate suits for the parents for damages against Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook, where the abuse is alleged to have occurred.

“Steps are being taken on behalf of some of those families of the eight. There will be legal action pretty immediately. The level of trauma has been quite intense,” personal injury lawyer Ms Harris said.

The claims will likely be lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court.

More than 250 families, whose children attended the centres where Mr Brown, 26, worked, have now approached Arnold Thomas and Becker, which is still receiving at least half a dozen calls per day for parents looking at their legal options.

The firm held an information session for about 200 families this week, most of whom had their children tested for infectious diseases amid fears of possible exposure.

Mr Brown was employed by 23 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025.

“The parents are really struggling,” Ms Harris said.

“You could really see the scale of the impact that one person has had (in that room) … Some are not able to return to work. Time will tell whether that will change, or whether they will need to look at what their options are if they are not able to continue their employment.”

“Some (can’t return to work) because they can’t entrust their kids to someone else. They’re feeling a bit of guilt.”

Ms Harris said most of the children were testing negative but many parents were dealing with an element of “not knowing”.

Police raided Mr Brown’s Point Cook home in May and charged him with serious child sex offences including sexual ­penetration, attempted sexual penetration, sexual assault, sexual activity in presence of a child and the production of child abuse ­material for use through a ­carriage service.

This week, another 800 children were recommended for infectious diseases testing after sexual crime squad detectives confirmed Mr Brown had worked at four additional childcare centres.

Some 2000 children have now been recommended for infectious disease testing amid fears of possible exposure.

This week’s police update also amended Mr Brown’s employment dates for 10 centres and removed one centre – Papilio Early Learning in Hoppers Crossing – from the investigation’s scope.

Affinity Education Group, which owned 12 of the centres at which Mr Brown worked, said in a statement it was deeply distressed by the nature of the charges laid against its former employee.

“Since being briefed on this matter on 1 July, 2025, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our employment and staffing records, as well as other relevant data,” a spokesman said.

“This included providing relevant information from our ongoing review to assist Victoria Police in updating families on the childcare centres where the alleged offender worked.”