Mother of alleged victim of serial pedophile ‘kept in dark’

The mother of an alleged victim of one of Australia’s worst pedophiles was “kept in the dark” as to the exact allegations involving her daughter until an internal report was leaked, a court has heard.

Yolanda Maria Borucki leaves Brisbane Magistrates Court. Pic: Glenn Campbell

The mother of an alleged victim of one of Australia’s worst pedophiles was “kept in the dark” by the Uniting Church as to the exact allegations involving her daughter at a Queensland childcare centre, until an internal report was leaked, a court has heard.

Months before his arrest, Ashley Paul Griffith was accused of kissing a young girl at a Uniting Church childcare centre in Queensland, but not only was there no charges, he was “welcomed back” by the centre with minimal restrictions.

Eight civil lawsuits were later levelled against the church regarding allegations at that centre.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court in September to 307 child sexual offences relating to the abuse and rape of dozens of little girls inside Queensland childcare centres – the majority being in Brisbane – from 2003 to 2022.

Griffith, who has remained behind bars since his arrest in August 2022, will be sentenced in Brisbane District Court later this week.

Ashley Paul Griffith.

Former Uniting Church childcare worker turned alleged whistleblower Yolanda Maria Borucki, 60, is accused of tipping-off Nine’s A Current Affair in August 2023 that she had reported Griffith, who was her colleague at the time, to Queensland police in 2021.

It is alleged that Mrs Borucki leaked sensitive information – including the Uniting Church’s internal investigation report into the incident – to the TV news program via email in the days before she officially finished her employment with the church.

She was charged with computer hacking and misuse causing detriment. She is fighting the charge, and the case went to a hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

The mother of the young girl involved in the 2021 incident testified on Monday.

She was notified of the incident by Mrs Borucki and later asked the Uniting Church for

a copy of the investigation report once finalised, so she could understand what happened.

“All I got told was ‘someone kissed your daughter’ and I was left trying to figure out how it had happened because we thought the children all slept inside the childcare centre, we had no idea that for three years children were allowed to sleep outside,” the mother said.

The woman said the alleged leak to A Current Affair and subsequent story “ripped her world apart again”.

“We’ve been kept in the dark for three years on everything … not being able to gain any information at all, but then reading it in the media and seeing it on TV. Being a parent, you don’t know any information, but everyone else knows more information than you,” she said.

Investigating officer Senior Constable Alan Hall said detectives recovered Mrs Borucki’s work laptop which showed on August 3, 2023 she had sent multiple emails with attachments from her work email to her personal email, but also to an A Current Affair reporter’s email.

Detective Senior Constable Alan Hall. Pic: Glenn Campbell

“There was information containing three separate children’s profiles which had enrolment and family details of everyone linked to that child – including driver’s licences, passports, home addresses, emails, phone numbers,” the detective testified on Monday.

In cross-examination by defence barrister Patrick McCafferty KC – representing Mrs Borucki pro bono – the specific allegations against Griffith in 2021 were disclosed.

“An individual walked through the bathroom to ask Ashley if he walked to go on a break. The informant stopped to look into the fort to see Ashley on his hands and knees bent over a girl who was sleeping on her back, his face was up against hers and his mouth was moving across her mouth,” Mr McCafferty told the court.

“The witness said it looked like he might have been kissing the child, but they couldn’t really see. The witness called out to Ashley a few times, he continued to be bent over the child.”

Senior Constable Hall said he was not involved in the investigation into this allegation, but confirmed no charges were laid.

United Early Learning general manager Belinda Briggs testified that Mrs Borucki was told in July 2023 she was being made redundant and her employment would finish on August 11.

Ms Briggs said the church’s IT manager flagged Mrs Borucki’s emails to her personal account and A Current Affair journalist on August 3. She was still technically employed at this point, and her system access had not been restricted, the court heard.

Defence Barrister Patrick McCafferty. Pic: Glenn Campbell

The A Current Affair story aired on the evening of August 4, 2023.

“The story was around the investigation and in particular Ashley Griffith … and a lot of information in those emails became public in that episode.”

In cross-examination, Mr McCafferty read aloud the recommendations made by the Uniting Church’s internal investigation into the 2021 incident involving Griffith.

Mr McCafferty said the recommendations included that Griffith be allowed to continue in his role as a director at the childcare centre, he undergo an informal counselling session with the area manager to discuss practices and areas of improvements, and he was required to review the relationships with children policies.

“The substance of them of course is that the church welcomed Mr Griffith back as a daycare centre educator, didn’t they?” Mr McCafferty posed.

“That report would indicate that, yes,” Ms Briggs conceded.

Malcolm Hinton, special legal counsel for the Uniting Church, said on the stand on Monday when discussing the 2021 incident that “there were eight civil claims against the Synod at that point in time in relation to what transpired at that centre”.

Mr McCafferty did not call any defence witnesses on behalf of Mrs Borucki on Monday, and indicated Mrs Borucki would not take the stand herself, as is her right.

The hearing will continue on Tuesday with legal submissions.