Ashley Paul Griffith, a 40-year-old, was arrested in 2022 in possession of thousands of child pornography photos and videos. In court, he pleaded guilty to more than 300 counts of rape, sexual assault, production and distribution of child pornography.
Abuse that lasted for decades. In Australia, a former educator in his forties pleaded guilty to rape and sexual assault of several dozen children in his care for more than 20 years, ABC News Australia reported on Monday, September 2.
Originally from the Gold Coast, in the Brisbane region, Ashley Paul Griffith is on trial for a total of 307 cases of rape, sexual assault, and production and distribution of child pornography, in a Brisbane court.
The alleged abuse took place in several daycare centres between 2003 and 2022 in several cities in Australia, as well as in Pisa, Italy, and involved around 60 children, according to Reuters. According to the court, most of the victims were under 12 at the time of the abuse, the BBC reports.
Placed in custody
Due to the scale of the charges against him, Australian police have already said the 40-year-old is likely one of the worst known paedophiles in the country’s history.
It’s a good thing that he [ait plaidé coupable]we can now move on to the next step,” several parents said.
The forty-year-old is currently in custody. He will be tried at a later date, which has not yet been announced.
“We will face it throughout our lives from now on”
In court, several families of victims, in tears, recounted the moment they received a phone call from the police asking them to identify their child in a photo. They explained their initial incomprehension, then their shock when they learned that their child had been sexually abused by the person who had custody.
Some parents have said that their child’s daycare, where the abuse took place, is now “the chamber of horrors” in their minds.
The father of one of the victims said it was “hard to believe” that someone could “get away with it” for “so long” without being arrested. It’s “something we’re going to have to deal with for the rest of our lives from now on,” he said.
Thousands of photos and videos found
Ashley Paul Griffith was arrested by Australian police in August 2022 after thousands of photos and videos of child abuse were discovered that he had uploaded to the dark web.
Although the faces of the victims and the perpetrator were not visible in the photos, investigators noticed that identical sheets appeared in the photos. They then established a link between these fabrics and the forty-year-old.
In November 2023, Ashley Paul Griffith was charged with over 1,600 child sex offenses. Most of the charges were eventually dropped.
