Major ‘red flag’ in childcare abuse allegations Arnold Thomas & Becker is preparing to represent hundreds of families in court over sexual abuse allegations in childcare centres. It comes after Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was last week charged with more than 70 offences against eight children, aged between five months and two years. A Melbourne mother has said she was left feeling “sick to the pit of her stomach” after discovering her young son attended a childcare centre where a man — now accused of sexually assaulting multiple children — had been employed. The mother said she thought she had done her “due diligence” when selecting a G8 Education childcare centre to look after her son. She said she never imagined a staff member employed to keep her child safe could be charged with abuse. Principal lawyer at Arnold Thomas & Becker, Jodie Harris said she had been contacted by dozens of “distressed” parents in the wake of the allegations. The firm is now preparing to seek significant compensation for affected families, likely on an individual basis rather than through a class action, as families report medical expenses and severe emotional and financial impacts. Ms Harris said parents have had to give up work to stay home with their children and are “suffering their own mental health conditions” as they are “so concerned that they’ve put their child in a position where they may have been abused”. “A major red flag for us in considering actions on behalf of families is just the sheer amount of access [Mr Brown] had one-on-one with children to allow this [alleged] offending to occur,” she said. Read the full story in the media. Contact us As a leading Australian Abuse firm, we have helped thousands of brave abuse survivors obtain compensation for physical, psychological and sexual abuse in institutional settings. Money can’t take the pain away, however, it can help achieve clarity and closure. We have extensive experience in obtaining ground-breaking multi-million dollar payments for our clients. Call us on 1300 333 300 or send us a message at [email protected]