Australia's worst alleged paedo unmasked as a childcare worker

04 October 2023 , 12:07

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Ashley Paul Griffith, 45, is accused of sexually abusing 91 children 

Australia's worst-ever alleged paedophile has been unmasked as a childcare worker who has been charged with 1,623 child abuse offences.

Ashley Paul Griffith, 45, is accused of sexually abusing 91 children and due to a change in new Queensland laws his identity can now be revealed. Police allege he began his rampage in 2007 until his arrest in 2022 while working in 10 childcare centres in Brisbane, one in Sydney and one overseas. If convicted of all offences, Griffith would be considered the worst paedophile in Australian history.

His crimes are so heinous he has been in custody in Queensland since he was arrested and charged on two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child abuse material. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said that within hours, further alleged child abuse material was discovered on his electronic devices. They say he recorded all the offences, which were against pre-pubescent girls, on his phone and cameras. There were around 4,000 files which were allegedly all meticulously sorted into a library of abuse with files labelled with his alleged victims' names and nicknames.

Daily Mail Australia previously revealed Griffith boasted about his childcare experience and discussed how he helped children "develop their identities" in a now-deleted online profile. At the time of the post, in early 2020, Griffith was the director of a Brisbane childcare centre. He wrote in the bio: "I love engaging children in meaningful experiences that inspire their play and learning." He said that "young children are natural inquirers" who "explore the world through their senses, seeking answers and building theories."

The AFP said it is confident all 87 of his alleged Australian victims have been identified with their parents informed of the investigation. The law changes, which came into place yesterday, mean accused rapists and adults charged with sexual offences can be named by the media before they go to trial. An exception to this is if identifying the accused would identify the accuser. The changes have been made in an effort to amplify the voices of victim-survivors.

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Police will allege Griffith raped one of his victims 28 times and sexually abused another 54 times. Another young girl was allegedly raped 27 times and sexually abused 34 times, the court documents state, while a third girl was allegedly raped eight times and abused 24 times over three years. Mr Griffith's lawyer made no application for bail. The case will be heard in court again on November 6.

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Rachel Hagan