Queensland parents alerted to alleged pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith’s childcare employment by media

Parents at some child care centres in Brisbane were only told alleged pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith had worked with their children after media named him this month.

Facing 1623 charges: Ashley Paul Griffith.

Brisbane childcare centres are taking it upon themselves to alert parents to alleged pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith previously working with their kids after his identity was revealed this month.

The Australian understands that at least one centre where the 45-year-old childcare worker ­allegedly offended sent a letter to parents alerting them to his ­employment, while two facilities have let parents know that Griffith had worked there on a casual basis ahead of his August 2022 ­arrest.

The Australian was able to publish Griffith’s name and photo for the first time this month following changes to Queensland laws allowing those charged with sexual offences to be identified before being committed to trial.

Griffith is accused of raping and sexually abusing 91 girls over a 15-year period in childcare centres in Brisbane, Sydney and Italy.

He is facing 1623 charges, which include the production and distribution of child abuse material on the dark web.

While the Australian Federal Police said it had previously notified all parents whose children had been allegedly abused, privacy laws prohibited centres from telling the broader community over fears it would identify him.

It is understood some centres were aware Griffith had worked there only after his identity was made public in the media.

Griffith allegedly offended at 10 centres across Brisbane, one in Sydney and at an International School in Pisa, Italy, between 2007 and 2022.

He was arrested following an eight-year-long investigation by the AFP, which allegedly connected the Gold Coast man to child abuse material posted online in 2014.

Court documents alleged two girls at one centre were raped more than two dozen times each.

Prior to his arrest, he had worked as a director of a childcare centre on Brisbane’s northside, writing on the facility’s website he was a “firm believer in play-based learning”. The staff profile has since been removed.

It is unclear how many centres he had worked at in total.

However, the AFP believes all of Griffith’s alleged victims have been accounted for as he allegedly kept meticulous files of all the abuse. All Australian children have been identified, according to the AFP.

Griffith was investigated by Queensland police on two occasions, in 2021 and 2022, but no charges were laid despite a former colleague alleging she had seen him kissing a child.

He was allowed to keep his Blue Card and continue to legally work with children, with court documents alleging he offended until months before his arrest.

While Griffith has yet to enter a plea, The Australian understands he is negotiating a deal, although his original legal repre­sentation has removed them­selves from the case.

He will next appear in court on November 6.

Griffith was allegedly attacked in prison by other inmates this month after his identity was made public.

An inmate is alleged to have thrown boiling water, potentially mixed with jam, on him at Wolston Correction Facility in Brisbane, causing him to be taken to hospital with facial burns, according to The Courier Mail.