Exclusive: As state and federal authorities respond to the distressing childcare abuse allegations that have rocked Melbourne this week, it can be revealed that the scope of this case could be even larger than previously thought.

A mother, who we will refer to as Amanda, has verified that her child was in the care of the alleged perpetrator, Joshua Brown, at Papilio in Essendon on at least three occasions in October and November in 2024.

Papilio Essendon, which is owned and operated by Affinity Education, appears on the list circulated by authorities this week, however the only dates flagged in relation to the centre were February 17, 2025 to May 9, 2025.

About 2600 families have so far been contacted by authorities, but Amanda was not among them, nor was she contacted by the childcare centre.

“I feel ill and guilty,” she said.

“Ill because of the unknown and guilty because I took my daughter there, I left her in their care.”

Amanda recognised the accused’s face in the media and did her own digging to verify his attendance at the centre last year.

”I first found out when my sister sent me a screenshot of the Victoria Police Facebook write-up.

“I looked at the list and felt ill but relieved my daughter wasn’t attending on those dates.

“But I couldn’t get his face out of my mind, he looked familiar.

“I went through the daycare app, looking through past uploaded pictures and found him in my daughter’s class on three separate dates from last year.

“Those dates weren’t on the Victoria Police list.”

Amanda, whose daughter no longer attends the Papilio centre, has since reported this to Crime Stoppers and the national hotline as well as informing other parents who had children in the same class last year.

Amanda says those families had also not been contacted.

Brown has been charged with more than 70 child abuse offences and had worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017.

He is yet to enter a plea in relation to a plea in relation to the charges.

CEO of The Parenthood, Georgie Dent, says Amanda’s revelations reinforce the systemic issues in the for-profit childcare system.

“There is no doubt that this highlights the problems of relying on a casualised workforce in the industry. We have a workforce that is not properly supported and so under strain, they are hiring people who are underqualified which enables alleged perpetrators to slip through.

“Experienced, qualified and supported staff needs to be the norm.”

9news.com.au has reached out to Papilio Childcare for comment.

Victoria Police statement

“As part of the ongoing investigation, information has been compiled from a number of sources and records in relation to Brown’s employment history,” Victoria Police told 9news.com.au in a statement.

“That information including dates and locations was released on Tuesday 1 July, based on what was known at that point in time.

“The investigation remains ongoing and any updates to the current information will be released accordingly via the website.

“Any further information should be directed to Crime Stoppers via the website.”

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