More than 800 additional children in the Australian state of Victoria are being recommended for testing for sexually transmitted infections after four more childcare centres were added to the known workplaces of alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown. Police have also added employment dates for ten other centres, citing incomplete records from childcare providers.
Detectives from Victoria Police's sexual crimes squad confirmed on Tuesday that four further centres had been added to Brown's work history: Milestones Early Learning Tarneit, Milestones Early Learning Braybrook, Milestones Early Learning Greensborough, and Milestones Early Learning Deer Park. Ten of the 20 previously identified centres have been updated with new information, while Papilio Early Learning in Hoppers Crossing was removed from the list after further investigation determined that information was incorrect.
Police now believe Brown worked at 23 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025. Earlier this month, the 26-year-old was charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims aged between five months and two years old. Approximately 2,600 families with children attending the listed centres have been contacted, with 1,200 initially advised to undergo STI screening.
Acting Commander Janet Stevenson acknowledged that some families would be frustrated by the delay in updating Brown's work history. “We are working through a large amount of information that has been provided to us,” she said. “Each piece of information has to be individually assessed and verified before it can be used as part of the investigation or released to the public.” Police said establishing Brown's complete work history had been “extremely complex” due to the lack of centralised records among providers, requiring search warrants for handwritten records, shift rosters, and other critical information.
Victoria's chief health officer, Dr Christian McGrath, said the health department was contacting 830 additional families, with 800 children likely to have had direct contact with Brown recommended for testing. “Our recommendation for testing is a precaution and the test results we've received to date as part of this investigation reaffirms that the risk is low,” he said. Families will be contacted initially via SMS and then by phone, with the department urging them to check the updated list of centres before calling its advice line.
