Ashley Paul Griffith, a 46-year-old former childcare worker in Australia, has admitted to raping and sexually abusing numerous young girls over a span of more than 20 years.
Griffith confessed to committing 307 offenses at childcare centers in Brisbane and Italy between 2003 and 2022, as detailed in a Queensland court on Monday.
The majority of Griffith’s victims were under 12 years old, with the court session revealing the extensive nature of his crimes.
The judge’s associate took over two hours to read the charges against him, which included 28 counts of rape, 190 counts of indecent treatment, 67 counts of creating child exploitation material, four counts of producing such material, and one count of distributing it.
Described by police as “one of Australia’s worst-ever paedophiles,” Griffith faced the court with several of his victims and their families present.
Some parents were visibly emotional as their children’s names were mentioned during the proceedings.
“We see people going [into the childcare centre now] and I think, this happened to my child in that room,” said one mother, reflecting on the trauma her family endures.
Her husband expressed disbelief at how Griffith managed to evade detection for two decades, adding, “As she grows up, we’ll deal with that as it comes but it’s going to be something we deal with through our lives now.”
Griffith was arrested in August 2022 by Australia’s federal police after they discovered thousands of photos and videos related to his abuse on the dark web.
Despite faces being cropped out, investigators traced the footage back to Griffith, identifying him by a unique set of bedsheets visible in the background of the videos.
Police believe Griffith documented all his offenses using his phones and cameras.
Initially charged in November of the previous year with over 1,600 child sex offenses, many of these charges were later dropped. Griffith remains in custody and is awaiting sentencing.
Source-BBC
