Alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown has been charged with 83 new offences, after being accused of sexually abusing babies and toddlers while working in Melbourne childcare centres.
Victoria police said Brown, 27, has now been charged with 156 offences, after an additional four alleged victims were identified.
Those alleged victims had attended the Nino Early Learning Adventures centre in Point Cook, Only About Children in Williamstown, and Aussie Kindies Early Learning Centre in Keilor.
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Brown had already been accused of abusing eight children, aged between five months and two years, before the latest charges.
He had been arrested in May, with his alleged offending triggering the health department to recommend infectious disease testing for about 2,000 children across 20 childcare centres.
Victoria police on Thursday said it had been liaising with the department and the state’s chief health officer, and that “no children will require further testing as testing has previously been recommended for the childcare centres involved”.
“The families of the four victims have been notified and have been provided with all available support services,” a police spokesperson said.
Police said the new charges included six counts of penetrating a child under 12, eight counts of producing child abuse material and 23 counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material.
On Thursday the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said she shared the anger and distress of parents.
“Families must be able to trust that their children are safe in childcare,” she said.
“Victorian parents will be angry and distressed by these additional allegations – I am too.
“The allegations this year have broken the trust of Victorians, and they’ve broken my trust too.”
Allan said the government had introduced four pieces of new legislation to parliament, with three passed, and that “the safety of children is my highest priority – and the highest priority of this government”.
Brown had worked at 23 childcare centres between 2017 and 2025. At the time of his arrest, police said they believed all alleged offending occurred within Victoria and there is no evidence to suggest any other staff member at any centre was involved.
After his arrest the government announced a series of reforms including a rapid review into the sector and creating a register of childcare workers.
