Daycare Worker Accused of Sexually Abusing 8 Kids — Now 1,200 Others Must Be Tested for Infectious Diseases

The Australian government is encouraging the parents of roughly 1,200 young children to have their kids tested for infectious diseases after a daycare teacher was arrested in connection with the sexual abuse of at least eight children.

Joshua Dale Brown, the teacher, is facing 70 charges related to the alleged abuse, according to the BBC, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Brown, 26, is accused of sexually abusing the eight children between April 2022 and January 2023, according to BBC. His alleged victims are as young as five months old and all under the age of two, according to the outlet.

Among the charges Brown faces include child rape and producing and transmitting child abuse material, according to BBC and ABC.

The outlets report that all of the alleged sex abuse happened at one daycare located in the suburbs of Melbourne, but that the case prompted the Australian government to act with precaution, calling on thousands of parents to have their children tested for infectious diseases.

Officials would not confirm whether Brown had tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease, however, according to BBC.

According to the Herald, Brown had worked at 20 daycare centers across Melbourne’s suburbs and in Geelong during the course of the last eight years.

Several parents spoke out about the allegations against Brown, including one mother who told the Herald she was “so angry” when she received the letter from the Australian government.

“Now I’m blaming myself that … maybe I shouldn’t work,” the mother, who was not identified by name, said. “What can you do, because you think it’s the safest place to drop them, but no, it’s not.”

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The letter sent to parents from the government implores them to have their children tested for infectious diseases “out of an abundance of caution,” according to news.com.au. Australia’s Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath told the outlet that roughly 2,600 families had been notified and that 1,200 children had been recommended to undergo testing, calling the situation “complex” and “distressing.”

G8 Education, one of the companies that operates the daycare centers where Brown worked, told the outlet that “these allegations are serious in nature” and echoed officials’ sentiments that the allegations were “extremely distressing.”

“My heart just breaks for the families that are living every parent’s worst nightmare,” Australian Premier Jacinta Allan said, according to news.com.au. “Every health and mental health support will be provided to these families. As a parent, this will be felt far beyond the families affected.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.