Ex-childcare worker guilty of abusing dozens of girls

A former childcare worker in Australia has pleaded guilty to raping and sexually abusing dozens of young girls under his care for over 20 years.

Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, confessed to committing 307 offences at childcare centres in Brisbane and Italy between 2003 and 2022, a Queensland court heard on Monday.

Most of Griffith’s victims were under the age of 12, the court heard. The judge’s associate took over two hours to read out all of the charges against him.

Police have previously described Griffith as one of Australia’s worst-ever paedophiles.

The charges against him included 28 counts of rape, 190 counts of indecent treatment, 67 counts of making child exploitation material, four counts of producing such material, and one count of distributing it.

Several of his victims and their families were in court on Monday, and some parents cried when the names of their children were read out, according to ABC News.

“We see people going [into the childcare centre now] and I think, this happened to my child in that room,” said one child’s mother. “It’s a room of horrors.”

The same child’s father said he could not believe how Griffith could have gotten away with his crimes for 20 years.