Health authorities will test 1200 young children for infectious diseases after a former childcare worker was charged with more than 70 child sex assault-related offences.

On May 12, police arrested 26-year-old Point Cook man Joshua Brown after discovering child abuse material and proactively chasing it down.

Brown had worked at a number of childcare centres across Melbourne, police said.

He was charged with more than 70 offences, including sexual penetration of a child under 12, sexual assault of a child under 16, and production of child abuse material.

The charges relate to eight alleged victims police say were at Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre in Point Cook between April 2022 and January 2023.

Brown has remained in police custody since his arrest and will appear in court on September 15.

Victoria Police Acting Commander Janet Stevenson said Brown had not been known to police prior to his arrest and that he had a valid working with children check.

She did not say how Brown came to police attention, but said the investigation was not sparked by a complaint to police.

While Brown was arrested weeks ago, she said, it took time for police to identify the alleged victims.

Police are continuing to investigate, including allegations of offences at a second childcare centre in Essendon.

Jesell Vargas was one of thousands of parents to receive an alert from authorities to inform them their child was enrolled at a centre where Brown worked.

“From Victoria Police… saying the childcare where my son was involved, something happened with a sexual assault. Obviously I’m in a panic,” she said.

Parent Sally rushed to the Point Cook centre to pick up her little boy after hearing the news.

“I’m so mad. That’s why I picked him up, why I picked him up early,” she told 9News.

She said she remembers Brown clearly.

“You come in the morning, you drop your child and he’s smiling at you. That smile is stuck on my mind now.

Although Brown’s charges are linked only to a single child care centre, he worked at 20 such centres between January 2017 and May 2025, police say.

Stevenson said the decision to publish Brown’s name and his former places of employment was “unusual” but driven by the need to keep parents informed.

The families of the eight alleged victims have been notified, police say.

Police said families who had placed children at any of the centres on the list were being contacted to ensure they had appropriate support and welfare services.

There is no evidence at this time to suggest any other staff member at any centre is involved in this matter, investigators said, nor have police alleged Brown committed offences at other centres.

Victoria Chief Health Officer Dr Christian McGrath said 2600 families had been contacted.

He said health authorities were urging 1200 children who may have been exposed to “infectious disease” during Brown’s periods of employment at childcare centres to undergo testing.

McGrath said the disease in question, which he did not disclose for privacy reasons, was treatable with antibiotics and did not pose a wider risk to the community.

The testing would be provided free of charge and he said families would be “supported” in taking it up.

He anticipated the process would take “days to weeks”.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said she was “sickened” by the allegations and confirmed the state’s early childhood regulator had launched an investigation.

She said any reform in the state would be guided by that investigation and the one carried out by police.

“This is an incredibly distressing and confronting investigation for all involved and I know many members of the community will hear this news and feel enormously concerned,” Stevenson said.

“We know there are potentially people out there who have information about this investigation that they wish to pass on to police.

“This may be people who had children at a centre where the man worked or staff who may have worked with him and noticed particular behaviours.”