A-G flags cross-jurisdictional investigation into Ashley Paul Griffith’s childcare offending

Queensland’s Attorney-General has called for a border-breaking major investigation into how monster pedophile Ashley Griffith was able to abuse dozens of children at multiple childcare centres, but there’s one major thing she hasn’t committed to.

A court sketch of Ashley Paul Griffith

Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington has called for a cross-jurisdictional investigation into how monster pedophile Ashley Griffith was able to sexually abuse and rape dozens of children in childcare centres.

But the government will not commit to a public inquiry like the South Australian Royal Commission that was held after the prosecution of Families SA worker Shannon McCoole for the sexual abuse of seven children in care.

Childcare worker Griffith was sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 27 years after pleading guilty to 307 offences against 69 little girls in Queensland and Italy.

Of those, 65 were raped or sexually abused by the 46-year-old in 11 Queensland childcare centres over nearly 20 years.

He is still expected to face prosecution in New South Wales where he is accused of abusing a further 23 girls at one childcare centre.

Griffith’s sentencing hearing in the Brisbane District Court last week heard he sometimes set up multiple cameras to film his victims and would take children to secluded places – including toilets – to abuse them for as long as 30 minutes.

Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington. Picture: David Clark

The LNP said it would hold an inquiry into how Griffith was able to do this as one of its election commitments.

The investigation will be undertaken by the Queensland Family and Child Commissioner with the report to be made public upon its completion.

Asked whether the inquiry should involve public hearings, Ms Frecklington said the government was still working on the terms of reference.

“I would like to see that inquiries into this will be public but again, I must get the terms of reference right and that’s what we’re working on right now,” she said.

“I have said this previously: one of the biggest issues around this matter is that it goes cross-jurisdictional.

“This was a person that was able to work across many jurisdictions and internationally and that is why we need to look into this matter and get to the bottom of why this happened.

“But there is an appeal process on foot and as Attorney-General I do not wish to comment and put in jeopardy that appeal process.”

Ashley Paul Griffith

Ms Frecklington said she recently attended the Standing Council of Attorneys-General where her interstate counterparts “were very concerned and eagerly awaiting the outcome of (the Griffith) case and that will be an ongoing topic going forward”.

“I think it is important that on this topic, we do a cross-jurisdictional investigation to make sure this never happens again,” she said.

SA’s Child Protection Systems Royal Commission was sparked by the arrest of predator McCoole who abused children in care and ran an international dark web pedophile network of 45,000 members called The Love Zone.

Griffith was one of those members and material pulled from the site by police eventually led to his downfall.

Investigators from the Australian Federal Police’s victim identification team spent years searching for clues in a series of videos and images, eventually tracing them to a Brisbane childcare centre where they found Griffith.

The SA Royal Commission into McCoole’s abuse resulted in 260 recommendations.

“We failed to protect the children left in the care of Shannon McCoole,” then premier Jay Weatherill said at the time.