Mother complained about childcare rapist 13 years before he was caught

Australia’s worst paedophile, Ashley Griffith, could have been caught 13 years earlier if police had handled a mother’s complaint about alleged abuse at a childcare centre differently.

Queensland Police have now launched an Ethical Standards Command investigation into the handling of the complaint in October 2009 to “further examine” their response.

The mother of the child contacted police two months ago after seeing details of Ashley Griffith’s guilty plea to hundreds of the worst child abuse offences in Australia’s history.

Ashley Griffith was jailed this year for offending in Queensland, New South Wales and Italy.Credit: A Current Affair

The woman, whose identity is protected by law, has now given a statement to A Current Affair warning that the system to protect children is broken.

“We tried so many years ago to make it known that Ashley Griffith is a dangerous paedophile. No one listened. No one cared,” the woman said.

“We felt so alone for so many years. Now, we know we are not alone. There are over 90 families who I am sure feel the same way we do. There is no comfort in that knowledge.

“I just want to say I am so sorry. I tried, and I carry the guilt of not trying hard enough.”

Griffith was sentenced in November to a minimum of 27 years in jail for offending across Queensland, NSW and Italy, beginning in 2003.

This latest complaint involves a young boy who was under Griffith’s supervision at a Brisbane childcare centre in 2007.

The mother said management at the centre had sent out a flyer stating Griffith was an “enthusiastic amateur photographer”, and on her last day attending, she “noticed a camera on the tripod facing the couch in a room upstairs”.

“It wasn’t just the photography that sent alarm bells, there were other signs that later made more sense to me,” the mother said.

Police confirmed a boy’s parent made a complaint as far back as 2009.Credit: A Current Affair

“The way my son threw himself on the ground and started screaming uncontrollably when Ashley came near him upon his arrival in the morning, the tantrums that increased in intensity towards the end of 2007 every morning that he had to go to kindy, and the way he cowered when Ashley looked at him at the Christmas art show in 2007.”

She claims her son did not make a disclosure about the alleged abuse until 2009, after they had left the centre.

“When he eventually said ‘Ashley hurt me’ and went on to provide graphic detail of sexual abuse, everything crashed into place.”

When the mother took her son to a Brisbane police station to make a report about the childcare educator, she “trusted that we would be taken seriously”, but that was “far from reality”.

“My four-year-old son was placed in a room with two police officers. They did not build rapport with him, and he did not talk about anything of significance to police that would cause concern in those few brief minutes,” she said.

“We were then asked very few questions and advised that there was nothing to warrant further investigation, and it was over.

“We left the police station feeling bewildered, disbelieved, and possibly crazy. Our concerns were not raised by police with the childcare centre.”

The mother claims she tried calling a different police station, but the officer in charge “dismissed my concerns, saying it sounded like a ‘rough nappy change’”.

Ashley Griffith was back on the Queensland Police radar in 2021, and again in 2022.Credit: A Current Affair

A Queensland Police spokesperson confirmed the parent of the child made a complaint in 2009 alleging “inappropriate touching by a childcare worker”.

“Detectives interviewed the male child, who did not make disclosures of an offence to police,” the spokesperson said.

“No evidence of an offence against the child has ever been identified by police,” the spokesperson said, adding the matter was “filed pending further information and evidence”.

Griffith returned to the Queensland Police radar in 2021 when a staff member at a Uniting Church childcare centre reported seeing him kneeling over a small girl and appearing to kiss her while she slept.

Griffith was also cleared of that complaint by officers and allowed to return to work at the same centre, where he continued to offend.

Court documents revealed four additional victims were subjected to Griffith’s abuse after that date.

In April 2022, a third complaint about Griffith was reported to Queensland Police after a three-year-old girl came forward claiming he had abused her at a different Brisbane childcare centre.

Officers at Boondall police station, which also handled the 2021 complaint, again cleared Griffith of this complaint.

The childcare worker was finally arrested in August 2022 by the Australian Federal Police, whose officers identified him from child abuse videos that he uploaded to the dark web under the username “Zimble”.

The childcare worker was finally arrested in August 2022 by the Australian Federal Police.Credit: A Current Affair

A search of his devices revealed more than 4000 child abuse images and videos, which documented most of his offending.

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said it was “committed to protecting the community, particularly children, from harm and exploitation, and undertakes regular reviews and internal audits to ensure continuous improvement and best practice in response to emerging issues and trends”.

“Since 2009, QPS has implemented several changes and improvements to its processes in handling child abuse cases.”

The mother in this latest case hopes to drive systemic change.

None of the three documented complaints met the threshold for a search warrant to be obtained, nor did they have any impact on Griffith’s blue card, which enabled him to work with children.

“Our current systems within childcare centres, the blue card and criminal justice system are clearly inept,” the mother said.

“This is not a criticism of police and their incredible courage and commitment in the work they do, this is not a criticism of our educators, this is a criticism of systemic failings.

“I am tired of carrying this unbearable truth that our children are not safe and we cannot protect them until something changes.”

The new Queensland government has promised to hold an inquiry into the various failings that enabled Griffith’s nearly two decades of offending to continue for so long.

“I call on the Queensland premier to have the courage and determination to protect our children,” the mother said.

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