What Penalties Could Melbourne Childcare Worker Joshua Brown Face?

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Joshua Dale Brown, a 26-year-old childcare worker from Melbourne, has been charged with over 70 offences, including child sexual assault and producing child abuse material. The charges involve eight child victims, all aged between five months and two years, who attended a childcare centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023 .

Brown’s employment history spans 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from January 2017 to May 2025. Authorities are contacting approximately 2,600 families whose children may have been affected, and 1,200 children are being urged to undergo infectious disease screening.

In response to the allegations, the Victorian government has announced a ban on personal devices in all childcare centres, effective by September 26, 2025, with non-compliant centres facing fines up to $50,000 . Additionally, the federal government plans to introduce legislation to cut funding to centres failing to meet child safety standards.

Police are currently also investigating further alleged offending at a second childcare centre in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Brown is scheduled to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on September 15, 2025.

Here is a list of childcare centres where Joshua worked.

Table Of Contents

Penalties For Child Sexual Assault Offences
Penalties For Sexual Touch Offences Against Children
Penalties For Sexual Act Offences Against Children
Penalties For Child Abuse Material Offences in Australia

Penalties For Child Sexual Assault Offences

The penalties for committing child sex offences depend on the type of child sex offence, age of the child, and the circumstances of the sexual assault. These penalties in New South Wales include the following pursuant to sections 66A, 66B, 66C and 66D of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW):

Sexual intercourse with a child (aged between 10 but under 14 years) carries up to 16 years’ imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 7 years.
Sexual intercourse with a child (aged between 10 but under 14 years) in circumstances of aggravation carries up to 20 years’ imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 9 years.
Sexual intercourse with a child (aged between 14 but under 16 years) carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Sexual intercourse with a child (aged between 14 but under 16 years) in circumstances of aggravation carries up to 12 years’ imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 5 years.
Sexual intercourse with a child (under the age of 10 years) carries life imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 15 years.
Attempting to or assaulting with intent to have sexual intercourse with a child (under the age of 10 years) carries up to 25 years’ imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 10 years.

The meaning of “circumstances of aggravation” here means the presence of any of the following circumstances:

The child is under the offenders authority.
Inflicting actual bodily harm to the child.
Threats made to Inflict actual bodily harm to the child.
The offender being in the company of another person at the time of the offence.
The child has a serious physical disability or cognitive impairment.
The offender has taken advantage of the child being intoxicated from drugs or alcohol.
The offender has deprived the child of his or her liberty.
The offender has committed the offence of breaking and entering a house with the intention of committing the offence.

The meaning of “sexual intercourse” is defined under the law as penetration of the other person’s genitalia or anus or mouth.

Penalties For Sexual Touch Offences Against Children

There are other types of child sex offences including the offence of sexually touching a child. This offence is found in sections 66DA and 66DB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) which carries the following penalties:

Sexual touch a child (aged between 10 but under 16 years) carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Sexual touch a child (under the age of 10 years) carries up to 16 years’ imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of 8 years.

A sexual touch offence is committed if a person intentionally touched a child or intended to incite someone to do the same, and the touch is ‘sexual’, namely, that a reasonable person considers it is sexual, taking into account the area touched, body part used to do the touching, whether it was for sexual gratification or arousal and any other aspects suggesting that it was sexual.

Penalties For Sexual Act Offences Against Children

A sexual acts with or towards a child or to do the same in ‘circumstances of aggravation’ amounts to a criminal offence under section 66DC of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). This offence also criminalises the conduct of inciting a child to carry out a sexual act with or towards a person or to incite a person to do the same towards a child. This carries the following penalties based on the child’s age:

Sexual act with child (aged between 10 but under 16 years) carries up to 2 years imprisonment.
Sexual act with child (under the age of 10 years) carries up to 7 years imprisonment.
Sexual act with child (aged between 10 but under 16 years) in circumstances of aggravation carries up to 5 years imprisonment.

Penalties For Child Abuse Material Offences in Australia

Producing child abuse material and transmitting child abuse material in Australia is a crime under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Commonwealth) under sections 474.22, 474.22A, 474.23, 474.23A, 474.25, 474.25A, 474.25C, 474.26, 474.27, 474.27A which carry the following penalties across Australia:

Using carriage service for child abuse material carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained using a carriage service carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining child abuse material for use through a carriage service carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Conduct for the purposes of electronic service used for child abuse material carries up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Using a carriage service for sexual activity with child under the age of 16 years carries up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Using a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to engage in sexual activity with or procure for sexual activity involving a child under the age of 16 years carries up to 10 years imprisonment.
Using a carriage service to procure a child under the age of 16 years carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Using a carriage service to ‘groom’ a child under the age of 16 years carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Using a carriage service to groom another person to make it easier to procure a child under the age of 16 years carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a child under the age of 16 years carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Meaning of Child Abuse Material

‘Child abuse material’ is defined in section 473.1 of the criminal code, and is material that:

Is a doll or other object that resembles a child (aged under 18 years) or part of the body of a child; or
Describes or depicts any one of the following, in a way that reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, offensive:
- A sexual organ or anal region of a person who is, or implied to be, a child, or the breasts of a female person who is, or implied to be a child, or
- A person who is, or implied to be a child who is engaged in, or implied to be engaged in a sexual pose or activity, or is in the presence of a person who is engaged in, or implied to be engaged in a sexual pose or activity, or
- The dominant characteristic of which is the depiction for a sexual purpose of a sexual organ or anal region of a person who is or appears to be a child, representation of such a sexual organ or anal region, or the breasts or a representation of the breasts of a female who is or appears to be a child, or
- that depicts a person or representation of a person who is or appears to be a child and is engaged in or appears to be engaged in a sexual pose or activity, or is in the presence of a person who is engaged in, or appears to be engaged in, same, or
- describes a person who is or implied to be a child and is or implied to be a victim of torture, cruelty or physical abuse, or
- depicts a person or a representation of a person who is or appears to be a child and is or appears to be a victim of torture, cruelty or physical abuse.

Published on 04/07/2025