Accused paedophile and former childcare worker Joshua Brown has been hit with several new allegations, including claims he ‘aggressively’ manhandled children.
Childcare provider G8 Education informed parents in an email on Saturday that Brown was subject to two investigations by the education department and Victoria Police during his employment between October 2021 and February 2024.
Those investigations are separate from the more than 70 offences he was charged with earlier this month.
The email, seen by the Herald Sun, revealed Brown was investigated in 2023 following allegations he ‘aggressively picked up and put down and did not uphold the dignity and rights of a child in his care’.
The alleged incident was reported by three of his coworkers.
Brown was given a ‘formal written warning’, underwent a performance improvement plan and took ‘an extended leave period’ in response.
However, the concerning behaviour allegedly continued in 2024 when Brown was reported for having ‘forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child’s shoe’.
He was suspended during the second investigation and eventually resigned.
Joshua Brown (pictured) was twice investigated for alleged aggressive behaviour against children during his employment at daycare centres
The new allegations come after Brown was charged with dozens of child abuse offences, including sexual penetration of a child and producing child abuse material.
The alleged offences occurred during Brown’s employment at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook, both owned by G8 Education, between October 2021 and February 2024.
Authorities earlier claimed Brown was previously unknown to police but G8 Education claimed it reported its two investigations to police at the time.
‘These allegations were reported by G8 Education to Victoria Police, CCYP and the Department,’ the childcare provider said in Saturday’s email.
‘All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes.’
It’s understood Brown’s Working With Children Check was not reviewed following the allegations and he was permitted to continue working at other childcare centres across Melbourne.
Since the charges against Brown were laid, the government recommended 1,200 children undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
Melody Glaister had to take her six-year-old daughter for her first-ever blood test following the warning.
Brown is accused of abusing children at several childcare centres across Melbourne (pictured, one of the facilities – Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook)
‘Having to explain to her that she needed to undergo that kind of testing … that was something that no parent should ever have to go through,’ she told the Herald Sun.
Ms Glaister’s daughter attended one of the daycare centres where Brown worked, Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook, for the entire duration of his employment at the facility.
She now remembers the conversations with Brown, her child’s favourite educator at the time, with a chill.
‘He was bubbly and always wanted to be around the children, which at the time I thought was a good quality,’ she said.
‘I’ve had so many conversations with him, (the charges) came as a complete shock.’
Ms Glaister and her husband believed they knew Brown so well they once considered his offer to privately babysit their daughter.
‘It haunts my husband and I that we seriously considered accepting his offer,’ Ms Glaister said.
‘It is distressing to the point where my husband no longer trusts anyone to care for her other than ourselves.’
Brown (left) had a valid Working With Children Check following two investigations into his alleged inappropriate behaviour
Brown worked at 20 childcare centres over an eight-year period between January 2017 and May 2025.
The Victorian Government has published a list of the affected centres and ongoing health advice on its website.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
