‘Never free this predator’: parents’ plea on pedophile childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith after pleading guilty to 306 child abuse charges

The parents of a little girl preyed upon by Australia’s worst alleged pedophile join calls for the former childcare worker to never be released after he pleaded guilty to more than 300 child abuse charges.

Ashley Paul Griffith pleaded guilty to more than 300 child abuse charges. Illustration: Scott Breton / Newswire

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The parents of a little girl preyed upon by Australia’s worst alleged pedophile have been joined by a leading abuse advocate in calling for the former childcare worker to never be released after he pleaded guilty to more than 300 child abuse charges.

Ashley Paul Griffith appeared in Brisbane’s District Court on Monday before a courtroom packed with families of young girls he abused over 15 years as he moved between Queensland, NSW and Italy.

Griffith accepted 28 counts of rape against at least 12 children, 190 counts of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child and 67 counts of making child exploitation material.

He also pleaded guilty to 15 counts of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child, four counts of producing child abuse material outside of Australia, one count of distributing child abuse material outside of Australia, one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material and one count of possessing child exploitation material.

A man and woman whose daughter was allegedly abused by Griffith said life in prison was not long enough for the man who had been so prolific in his abuse. “It’s a little bit disappointing that life is probably not as long as we’d like, especially if there’s any kind of parole element to that,” said the father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his child.

“It was good that it was a guilty plea and that we can move on to the next step now.

“It would have been awful if he had pled innocent, and then we have to go through that.”

Australian Federal Police arrested Griffith eight years after child exploitation material found on the dark web led them back to the man who worked in almost a dozen childcare centres in Brisbane, Sydney and Pisa, Italy, from 2007 to 2022.

Investigators traced bedsheets in some of the abuse footage to Brisbane childcare centres, eventually leading to the identification of Griffith as the offender. Some of his alleged victims are now adults.

Child abuse campaigner Hetty Johnston said no one should have to ever worry again where Griffith was living or what he was doing. “This is the type of predator that should never, ever see the outside of a jail,” Ms Johnston said.

“Our system is so much more concerned about the civil rights of adults than they are about the human rights of children. For me, it’s throw away the key.”

Each rape charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Making child exploitation material comes with a maximum term of 25 years in Queensland, while the charges of indecent treatment of a child under 12 carry up to 20 years behind bars.

The parents of the young girl sat beside two other couples in the public gallery, separated by a panel of perspex from Griffith in the dock. Each pair held each other and cried at times throughout the childcare worker’s mammoth 2½-hour indictment.

Griffith responded “guilty” to each allegation and declined an opportunity by judge Anthony Rafter to make a statement at the end of proceedings.

The couple who spoke outside the court said they reported allegations he threatened to smack a child at the childcare centre where he was working, but their claim wasn’t investigated by the operator. “They said, ‘Leave it with me, I will deal with that’,” the mother said.

“It was never put forward. They (the child care centre) did not tell the (other) child’s parents or anything.”

The father added: “That’s been the hard thing to process, that every child after that incident, effectively, we could have stopped it.”

The couple said their now primary school-aged daughter was doing well, but they were prepared to offer her more support as she grew older and understood the gravity of what happened to her.

Ms Johnston said it was important the parents did not blame themselves and commended them for working with the police to get justice.

Griffith did not apply for bail and will remain in custody. He will undergo a psychiatric assessment in October prior to sentencing later in the year.

The matter will next be heard for a mention on September 9.