Accused rapist who led police to alleged paedophile Joshua Brown pleads not guilty

An accused child rapist who led police to childcare worker Joshua Brown will fight dozens of sex offence related charges in court.

Michael Simon Wilson, 36, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday via video link from custody, where he chose to fast-track his 72 charges to a higher court.

Those charges including rape and bestiality alongside the possession and transmission of child abuse material that police say occurred between April 2022 and May 2025.

Defence lawyer Heather Anderson told the court her client wanted the matter to proceed straight to the County Court, with pleas of not guilty entered to each charge.

“Mr Wilson, are you guilty or not guilty?” magistrate Gerard Lethbridge asked.

“Not guilty, your honour,” Wilson replied.

Lethbridge remanded Wilson in custody to next face a directions hearing in the County Court on December 15.

Court documents released to the media show among the charges police from the sex crimes squad allege Wilson also incited suicide between December 2024 and April 2025, produced child abuse material on January 10 in 2023, and possessed an imitation firearm.

Wilson, a former waste management worker, was arrested in April after being accused of raping a teenage boy he met online in Hoppers Crossing, in Melbourne’s south-west.

As part of the investigation into Wilson, a previous court hearing was told police became aware of childcare worker Brown, who has since been charged with more than 70 offences related to the alleged abuse of eight children in his care.

Brown had worked in more than 20 childcare centres across Melbourne and is accused of sexually abusing babies and toddlers at a centre in the city’s west between April 2022 and January 2023, and transmitting abuse material to Wilson.

On Friday, the court heard Wilson is also facing separate, unrelated sexual offence related charges.

He will face a contested hearing on that matter in February where witnesses are expected to be cross-examined and the accused brought into the court.

The court heard that case relates to eight charges, including rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment and stalking.

The court earlier heard both cases relate to material allegedly found by police on a device belonging to Wilson.

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