Hundreds of children in Australia should be tested after abuse

Hundreds of children in Australia should be tested after abuse

The parents of 1,200 children in the Australian state of Victoria are urgently asked to have their children tested for infectious diseases after an employee of a kindergarten has been confronted with over 70 crimes, including sexual assault.

accusation against Joshua dale Brown

The authorities reacted to the arrest of Joshua Dale Brown, 26, who is accused of sexually abusing eight children aged 5 months to 2 years in a kindergarten in Melbourne between 2022 and 2023. All charges refer to the eight alleged victims, each attending a kindergarten. However, the police do not rule out that there are other potential victims in other kindergartens in which he has worked in 2017.

public announcement to ensure security

The provisional director of Victoria Police, Janet Stevenson, emphasized the importance of making Brown's names public so that parents can check whether their children have come into contact with him. "It is very important that every parent who has a child in kindergarten knows who he is and where he worked," said Stevenson in a press conference on Tuesday.

legal steps and investigations

Brown is currently in custody and is to appear in front of the court in Melbourne on September 15, as the police in a press release published. CNN is working on confirming Brown's legal representations.

support offers for affected families

In May this year, Victoria Police's sexual talic department began with investigations after descriptions of child abuse were discovered. This led to a search order in Brown's apartment, which ultimately led to his arrest. The police started to identify the alleged victims. "Last week we informed eight families that we were charged Brown for sexual attacks on their children," said Stevenson. "It was extremely stressful for the families as they can imagine. We worked with our partner agencies to provide all the necessary support offers so that they can survive this difficult time."

health recommendations for children

Browns had a valid “Working with Children Check”, which is a mandatory review for people who work with children in Australia. Christian McGrath, the senior health officer, announced that around 2,600 families were contacted, whose children visited the kindergartens in which Brown worked. Around 1,200 children are recommended to be tested for contagious diseases. "We recommend that some children are tested during this period due to a potential risk of exposure. We are aware that this represents an additional stressful component of the Situation and proceed as a precaution," said McGrath, but without specifying what diseases it was. However, these could be treated with antibiotics.

reactions to the allegations

Brown is accused of sexually abusing children and producing and transferring material about child abuse, among other things. The eight alleged victims visited the Creative Garden Early Learning Center in Point Cook, a suburb of Melbourne. The police did not announce the victim's gender. Investigators also check evidence of possible offenses in another kindergarten in Essendon, in the northwest of Melbourne, "as a priority", as stated in the press release. The Prime Minister of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, expressed horror about the allegations: "They are shocking and stressful, and the heart breaks me for the families who experience a nightmare that every parent is afraid. As a mother, I can only imagine the unbearable pain and grief that the affected families experience through at this moment."