G8 Education defends ASX disclosures amid child abuse scandal
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The news: G8 Education shares took another hit today as the early childhood and care provider responded to a letter from the ASX querying the company's disclosures in relation to a former employee charged with sexual assault offences involving children.
The numbers: G8 shares were down 1.1% to 89 cents at 1:30pm AEST.
The ASX wrote to G8 on 4 July querying the decline in its shares from $1.17 at the start of trading on 1 July to a low of 95.5 cents over the following four sessions.
The context: G8, which made its first ASX announcement on the case on 2 July, said it became aware of the information shortly after it was made public by Victoria Police on 1 July, following media reports.
The company said it did not issue an ASX release at an earlier time because the details of the case were already publicly available and G8 did not possess any further information.
G8's subsequent announcement on 2 July was "voluntary to acknowledge the shocking and extremely distressing nature of the information and to note [G8's] commitment to providing support to those in [G8's] community who have been impacted," the company said in its response to the ASX query.
G8 added that it did not expect the news to have a "material effect" on its share price. The company said that "despite being shocked and distressed" by the information, it concluded that it was unlikely to have a material impact on its financial position or performance.
G8 assessed any potential liability in connection with the information as not being material, and did not anticipate a material impact to occupancy — a key driver of the company's earnings — or regulatory approvals or other financial metrics.
Victoria Police said on 1 July that detectives are investigating a number of alleged sexual assaults linked to former G8 employee Joshua Brown, after he was arrested and charged with over 70 offences in May.
The charges, which include sexual assault and producing child abuse material, relate to eight victims at a Creative Garden Early Learning Centre — owned and operated by G8 — in the Melbourne suburb of Point Cook.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Christian McGrath, said the government has identified and contacted about 2,600 families and recommended 1,200 children be tested for infectious diseases.
The source: ASX
