Australia vows childcare crackdown after worker charged with sex offences

Officials pledge to toughen laws aft 26-year-old childcare idiosyncratic charged with abusing 8 children nether his care.

Australia has announced plans to tighten oversight of childcare facilities aft a antheral successful Melbourne was charged with dozens of intersexual offences against children successful his care.

The moves travel aft constabulary successful the confederate authorities of Victoria announced connected Tuesday that they had charged a 26-year-old childcare idiosyncratic with much than 70 kid enactment offences, including rape.

The man, identified arsenic Joshua Dale Brown, is accused of abusing 8 victims, aged betwixt 5 months and 2 years, astatine a childcare centre successful Melbourne’s occidental suburbs.

Police person said they are besides investigating grounds of maltreatment astatine a 2nd childcare centre successful the northwest of the city.

Authorities accidental the accused worked astatine 20 childcare facilities successful full during an eight-year span that lasted until May.

Health authorities successful Victoria person recommended that 1,200 children linked to facilities wherever the antheral worked beryllium tested for infectious diseases arsenic a precautionary measure.

On Wednesday, Australian Education Minister Jason Clare said helium would property up with authorities to portion backing from childcare facilities that bash not conscionable capable information standards and analyse different imaginable measures, including strengthening inheritance checks for those moving with minors.

“Any Australian who heard the quality from Victoria yesterday would beryllium sickened by what they heard,” Clare said during a quality league successful Sydney.

“And for each genitor that is straight affected by this successful Victoria, they would beryllium frightened and they’d beryllium angry.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she would present a authorities registry of childcare workers and prohibition idiosyncratic devices astatine childcare centres from September.

Allan said her authorities would besides commence an “urgent review” to analyse options for improving information successful the sector, including perchance installing information cameras successful childcare facilities.

“We volition follow each proposal of the reappraisal and instrumentality them arsenic rapidly arsenic possible,” Allan said successful a statement.

“Following yesterday, I cognize excessively galore families are suffering unbearable symptom and uncertainty. I cannot ideate what they are going through.”

The latest information scare to engulf Australia’s childcare assemblage comes little than a twelvemonth aft a Queensland antheral pleaded guilty to sexually abusing dozens of girls astatine childcare centres successful 1 of the worst paedophile cases successful the country’s history.

Ashley Paul Griffith was sentenced to beingness successful situation successful November aft admitting to much than 300 offences against 69 girls astatine daycare facilities successful Brisbane and Italy.