One of Australia’s worst paedophiles has been jailed for life for hundreds of sex offences he committed over the course of 19 years while working in childcare centres.
Warning: This article discusses sexual assault which may be distressing to some readers.
Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, returned to the dock in Brisbane District Court today for the completion of his sentencing hearing.
He has pleaded guilty to 28 counts of rape against girls primarily aged three to five at childcare centres in Queensland between 2007 and 2022.
Judge Paul Smith imposed a non-parole period of 27 years and said Griffith was “depraved and has a high risk of reoffending”.
“People except their children will be protected in childcare centres and this will be a concern to every parent in this state,” he said.
Griffith pleaded guilty to a total of 307 offences including ongoing sexual abuse and making child exploitation material against nearly 70 victims beginning in 2003.
Judge Smith said the youngest victim was a one-year-old and the oldest was aged seven to nine.
Dozens of parents of victims and some of the victims themselves, now young adults, were in court to watch the sentencing.
They sat a short distance behind Griffith, separated from him by a wall of unbreakable glass.
Judge Smith said Griffith had filmed all but one of the 65 victims as he sexually assaulted them and there was a chance the videos he shared with others would “live forever on the internet”.
“The children were awake or asleep … he frequently gave them an iPad to distract them,” he said.
Judge Smith said Griffith could be heard in the videos he made mocking victims for saying his abuse was “yucky” and telling him to stop.
Judge Smith said Griffith had initially denied committing any offence but later made admissions during 13 police interviews while still downplaying the number of victims and seriousness of the sexual assaults.
“There was co-operation in identifying victims and the location of offending … the defendant did not identify any victims not captured on video,” Judge Smith said.
Director of Public Prosecutions Todd Fuller previously said Griffith had uploaded videos of himself abusing six children to a dark web in order to gain access to child exploitation material from other members of a website.
Judge Smith said Griffith was made a “VIP user” on the website and wrote comments to other paedophiles advising them on how to sexually assault children.
The judge listened for two hours on Thursday as three victims and 20 parents of victims read their impact statements.
The victims said their lives were shattered by finding out Griffith sexually assaulted them as toddlers and young girls.
The parents said they felt “irrevocable pain and guilt” over trusting Griffith to care for their children.
“There is no doubt there has been significant effects on many people. There has been significant harm that will continue,” the judge said.
Judge Smith said Griffith had used “a degree of violence and emotional manipulation” to enable his abuse of children.
Griffith has been in custody for 831 days since his arrest in August 2022, when police searched his Gold Coast home.
He will be eligible for parole in 2049.
Griffith is also subject to an arrest warrant for child sex offences allegedly committed while working in NSW between 2014 and 2018.
