Former childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith has confessed to committing 307 sexual offences against dozens of children under his care in Brisbane and Italy between 2007 and 2022.
Griffith, 46, from the Gold Coast, pleaded guilty to all charges at an arraignment at the Queensland district court on Monday morning.
A packed courtroom was silent as all 307 charges were read out this morning, a process that took more than two hours. Some in the audience stood during the entire hearing, due to a lack of space.
Several onlookers cried during the hearing before judge Anthony Rafter.
Griffith appeared in a striped polo shirt and jeans and stood while the charges were read. He said “guilty” in a calm voice as each of the charges were read out by a judge’s associate, and occasionally nodded.
He was formally convicted of offences committed at childcare centres where he worked between January 2007 and August 2022.
They include 190 charges of unlawful and indecent dealing with a child under 12 under his care, 28 counts of rape, 67 counts of making child exploitation material, four counts of producing child exploitation material and a count of distributing child exploitation material. He was also charged with possessing child exploitation material between 2005 and 2022, using a carriage service for that purpose.
Asked if he had anything to say, Griffith mouthed no and shook his head.
Sixty victims were named in the court on Monday, but their identities cannot be reported for legal reasons.
The Australian federal police believes Griffith – who had the required childcare qualifications – recorded all his alleged offending on phones and cameras at work.
An additional 13 charges were dropped at the start of Monday’s hearing.
Griffith worked at a range of childcare centres in Brisbane, and others in Sydney and Pisa, Italy.
He was arrested in October 2022 by officers of the AFP and Queensland police.
All victims have been identified and their families informed, the AFP has previously said.
The AFP said Griffith worked at some childcare centres where he did not offend.
A sentencing date for Griffith has yet to be set, but he will appear again at the district court for a mention on 9 September.
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On the request of crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher, the court ordered that a psychiatrist’s report be prepared as part of a pre-sentencing report.
Judge Rafter said the sentencing could take more than two days due to the large number of victims’ families who might choose to read out victim impact statements.
Defence barrister Sarah Cartledge said the defence had attempted to progress the matter as quickly as possible.
The parents of one victim spoke outside court on Monday, but cannot be identified for legal reasons.
They said Griffith was at the childcare centre for just 15 days in 2018, and came across as odd and “weird looking”.
They were glad Griffith confessed and pleaded guilty, rather than “having him see the pictures of all of these children again [in order to make a defence]”, the mother said.
Their child was “very young at the time, and we’ve talked to her about it, but … she doesn’t quite understand”, she said.
“As she grows up we’ll deal with that as it comes, but it’s going to be something we’ll deal with through out lives now,” the father said.
“We certainly feel that the there’s something broken in the system, how someone like that could get away with that for so long.
“It’s hard to believe that it’s being run as effectively as it could have been when someone could be so prolific.”
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In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.
