Sex crimes inquiry into Joshua Brown nets third accused child rapist

A third person has been charged with nearly 200 sex crimes, including child rape, as part of the ongoing investigation that uncovered accused childcare paedophile Joshua Brown.

Matthew Green, 29, also known as Kaleigh Green, was charged in September with offences spanning four years that include the alleged abuse of children and animals.

The case can now be revealed after this masthead successfully applied for an order banning publication of the matter to be lifted. Green’s alleged offending does not relate to childcare settings and Brown is not listed as a co-accused.

But Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard the case was linked to Brown through “the police investigation rather than the alleged offending”.

Green, of Frankston, who now identifies as a woman, is facing 194 charges from 2022 until their arrest last year, including 11 counts of child rape, 50 counts of intentionally producing child abuse material, 63 counts of transmitting or causing child abuse material to be transmitted, and eight counts of performing sexual acts in front of a child.

Documents released by the court show Green is accused of rape and the production and transmission of child abuse material all on the same day.

The charges also include 13 bestiality counts allegedly committed at a property in Leongatha, in the state’s south-east, between July 2022 and August 2024.

Prosecutors initially won a court order suppressing publication of Green’s name or details of the case until this year while the investigations continued.

Green’s defence team then unsuccessfully applied to have it extended on safety grounds.

Dominique Lardner argued her client’s physical and psychological safety were at risk if the case were mentioned in the media.

Magistrate Rohan Lawrence said he was not satisfied Green faced any significant increased risk of harm at the hands of other inmates if media reporting occurred.

Lawrence said Green was doing well in custody and undertaking study. Green is expected to return to court this month.

Police first charged Joshua Dale Brown, 27, mid last year. He now stands accused of 156 offences allegedly committed between April 2022 and May 2025.

Brown had worked in more than 20 childcare centres across Melbourne and is accused of sexually abusing babies and toddlers and transmitting abuse material to Michael Simon Wilson, 26, from Hoppers Crossing.

Wilson was charged in May 2025 with more than 70 offences including the alleged rape of a child, bestiality, and possessing child abuse material between April 2022 and May 2025 in Melbourne’s west.

Wilson was the alleged target of the initial investigation that police say caught Brown in its net.

Wilson is due to face court again this month, while Brown is due to return in April.

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