On September 2, former childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, pleaded guilty to 307 charges relating to children in his care, including 28 counts of rape, 90 counts of indecent exposure and 67 counts of using a child for exploitation.
The offences were committed against about 60 children, many under the age of 12, at childcare centres in Australia and Italy over 19 years.
Illustration photo: Pexels
Judge Anthony Rafter took more than two hours to read the charges against Griffith in the Brisbane County Court, where many of the victims and their families gathered. Griffith appeared emotionless as he pleaded guilty to all charges, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Police allege the 46-year-old is one of Australia's worst paedophiles, after allegations against him became public last year.
Griffith was first arrested in 2022 for creating child sexual abuse material. A year later, he was charged with 1,623 counts of child sexual abuse. However, some of the charges were dismissed before a hearing on September 2.
The offences occurred between 2003 and 2022 in 12 different locations across Australia as well as in Pisa, Italy. Police said they had been searching for Griffith since discovering a collection of child abuse images and videos circulating on the dark web in 2014.
Griffith is in custody and will be sentenced at a later date. Sentencing could take more than two days to allow time for victim impact statements to be processed.
Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters, Al Jazeera)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cuu-nhan-vien-cham-soc-tre-em-xam-hai-tinh-duc-khoang-60-be-gai-tai-uc-post310315.html
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