Police granted more time in investigation of accused childcare offender

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The Melbourne Magistrates Court has granted prosecutors additional time to build their case against Joshua Dale Brown, a former childcare worker facing 73 serious charges related to the alleged abuse of eight children.

Brown, 26, who was not required to attend Tuesday’s brief hearing, was originally scheduled to return to court in September. However, Magistrate Donna Bakos approved the prosecution’s application to postpone the committal mention to 10 February 2026, allowing detectives further time to gather evidence. A full brief must now be served to the defence by 4 December 2025.

Police have indicated that more charges are likely to be laid as the investigation progresses. Brown is currently accused of multiple offences, including intentional sexual touching, producing and transmitting child abuse material, sexual activity in the presence of children, and sexually penetrating children under 12.

The alleged offences occurred between April 2022 and January 2023 at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, one of 24 early learning services across Melbourne where Brown worked between 2017 and his arrest.

Brown also faces a separate charge of contaminating goods with intent to cause public alarm or anxiety. This has prompted Victorian authorities to advise parents of around 2,000 children who came into contact with Brown to seek testing for infectious diseases, amid reports that food may have been deliberately contaminated with bodily fluids.

Brown’s defence counsel, Rishi Nathwani KC, did not oppose the prosecution’s request for more time, though he argued against the public release of charge sheets, citing concerns over premature disclosure during an active investigation. Magistrate Bakos rejected this submission, stating the charges were already part of the public record and that “fair and accurate reporting requires the nature of the charges to be released.”

If you, or someone you know, is impacted by child sexual abuse or online exploitation, support services are available.

To read the original coverage of this story, as produced by the Canberra Times, please see here