A former childcare worker in Australia has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing almost 70 children over the period of two decades.
Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, was sentenced on Friday by the Brisbane District Court after he pleaded guilty to 307 sex offences committed over 20 years.
Judge Paul Smith said the scale and the nature of the crimes were "depraved" and "horrendous", adding that "significant harm" had been caused by Griffith, "and significant harm will continue to be caused".
"This was very serious, offending in terms of length and scale. The victims were very vulnerable, and there was a significant breach of trust," Judge Smith added, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The judge said there was a high risk of Griffith re-offending if he was released into the community. The accused will have a non-parole period of 27 years and won't be eligible to apply until 2049.
Griffith, dubbed as "one of Australia's worst paedophiles" appeared emotionless during his second day of sentencing at the district court. Several people reportedly screamed at Griffith in the courtroom as the judge handed his sentence.
The charges against Griffith included 28 counts of rape, 190 of indecent treatment, and 67 of creating child exploitation material. The crimes were committed against about 70 children, many of them under 12, at childcare centres in Australia and Italy between 2003 and 2022.
Griffith was arrested in August 2022 after investigators linked him to disturbing content found on the dark web. He was charged with more than 1,400 crimes, including multiple counts of rape, after additional child abuse material was found on his electronic devices.
The number of charges was significantly reduced earlier this year and additional charges were dropped on Monday, leaving him facing 307 offences.
The court was told last week that Griffith was diagnosed with a "paedophilic disorder" and was assessed as having "a high level of sexual deviance".
Investigators found thousands of photographs and videos of abuse that were filmed by him and uploaded onto the dark web.
A parent of one of the survivors recalled the “horrific” moment they were told their daughter had been sexually abused. They initially thought that police were contacting them about a separate incident at the daycare centre, but they were instead asked to identify their child from a photo.
“We see people going in and I think this happened to my child in that room,” the survivor’s mother said, referring to the daycare centre. “It’s a room of horrors.”
Her father said it was “hard to believe” how someone could “get away with something like that for so long”.
“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,” the child’s father said. “It was good that he pleaded guilty and we can move on to the next step now.”
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.
