A horrified parent has revealed Australia’s alleged worst paedophile who managed childcare centres across the country also had a special role as the daycares centres’ in-house photographer.
Ashley Paul Griffith, 45, has been charged with 1,623 child abuse offences after allegedly sexually assaulting 91 young girls at childcare centres in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas between 2007 and 2022.
The horrific allegations against Griffith include 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 – with at least 23 of his alleged victims then aged between one and five.
Griffith’s identity was unmasked for the first time on Tuesday after a change in Queensland law allowed the identity of those accused of sexual assaults to be identified prior to being committed to stand trial.
A parent whose child used to attend one of the centres where Griffith was employed in 2008 and 2009 has spoken out about how Griffith loved to take videos and photos of the children.
‘My son went there for a while,’ he said. ‘He [Griffith] loved to photograph the kids and take videos of them and had essentially taken up the role of centre photographer.’
The father said his family still have pictures from his son’s time at the centre on display inside their home.
‘I have a black and white photo on my wall of my son taken by Ashley,’ he said. ‘I also somewhere have a DVD he made of my son and other kids playing.
‘I feel sick to the pit of my stomach. This is all so disturbing.’
Ashley Paul Griffith, 45, (pictured) allegedly sexually abused 91 young girls over the past 15 years
If convicted of all offences, Griffith would be considered the worst paedophile in Australia’s history.
Court documents reveal the extent of the heinous allegations against Griffith.
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.
A third girl was allegedly raped eight times and abused 24 times over three years.
Earlier this year, Daily Mail Australia 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, where he also worked as a Kindergarten teacher.
Describing himself in an online bio for the business, Griffith said he had years of experience working in the early childhood sector and is a ‘firm believer in play-based learning as well as Inquiry’.
‘I love engaging children in meaningful experiences that inspire their play and learning,’ the post reads.
‘I am particularly fascinated by how children use creative languages such as drawing, building, painting and music to express themselves and develop their identity.’
The man allegedly committed the offences, including 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, while he was a childcare worker in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas between 2007 and 2022
Griffith said that ‘young children are natural inquirers’ who ‘explore the world through their senses, seeking answers and building theories’.
He added: ‘As an Early Childhood Teacher I hope to share this journey, learning side by side children and inspiring them.’
Griffith said his lengthy early childhood teaching experience included spending around 12 months working at a school in Italy and several years in Sydney helping set up a childcare centre.
After spending several years away from Queensland, Griffith said he had recently returned to Brisbane to support his sister, who has three young children.
Before taking the role as director, Griffith said he had been working at another local school teaching a Kindergarten program.
Griffith spent almost two years as the director of that childcare centre before colleagues reported him to police in October 2021 after allegedly witnessing him inappropriately touching children.
He was stood down with full pay while the allegations were investigated. However, his former manager Yolanda Borucki said he was ultimately cleared and allowed to return to work due to lack of evidence.
Queensland Police confirmed that while they investigated Griffith, they did not search his home or devices.
He was eventually taken into custody around 10 months later in August 2022 after the Australian Federal Police allegedly linked him to another active child abuse investigation.
Australian Federal Police Northern Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough (above) said police are providing ongoing support to the affected parents and children
Queensland Police first launched an investigation in 2014 after finding child abuse images and videos on the dark web and posted the images on an international victim identification database, hoping overseas authorities may be able to help.
However, the images contained few distinguishable clues for investigators to follow and the case went cold for eight years.
A breakthrough came in August, 2022, when the AFP was able to trace objects identified in the background of the alleged images and videos posted on the dark web between 2013 and 2014 to a Brisbane childcare centre.
The AFP executed a search warrant on August 20, 2022 on a Brisbane home and arrested the man in the city’s south-west before charging him with allegedly making and distributing child abuse material.
Griffith worked in Brisbane childcare centres between 2007 and 2013, overseas in 2013 and 2014, a Sydney centre between 2014 and 2017 and in Brisbane again between 2018 and 2022.
The AFP said it is confident all 87 of his alleged Australian victims have been identified with their parents informed of the investigation.
Griffith’s case returns to court at a later date.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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