One of Australia’s worst pedophiles, Ashley Paul Griffith, is appealing his life sentence, claiming his punishment is “excessive”.
It has only been a month and a half since the former childcare worker was jailed for life, pleading guilty to more than 300 sexual offenses against children.
Griffith’s offenses spanned almost 20 years at nurseries in Brisbane and Italy.
It included 28 counts of rape, 190 counts of indecent treatment of a child and 67 counts of creating child exploitation material.
In total he abused 69 girls while working at a daycare.
He was arrested in August 2022 after police were able to identify a Brisbane daycare from bedsheets in videos he had uploaded to the dark web in 2014.
At his sentencing in November last year, Judge Paul Smith imposed a sentence of life without parole for 27 years and said Griffith was “depraved and at high risk of re-offending”.
“People expect their children to be protected in childcare and this will be a concern for all parents in this state,” she said.
Griffith’s offenses spanned more than 20 years and included 28 counts of rape, 190 counts of indecent treatment of a child and 67 counts of creating child exploitation material.
Judge Smith said Griffith had filmed most of the victims while he sexually assaulted them and there was a possibility that videos he shared with others would “live forever on the internet”.
“The children were awake or asleep… I often gave them an iPad to distract them,” he said.
The judge said Griffith could be heard on the videos taunting the children when they told him to stop.
Griffith had uploaded videos of himself abusing children to the dark web to gain access to child exploitation material from other members of a website.
He was named a “VIP user” on the website and even wrote comments to other pedophiles advising them how to sexually assault children.
Griffith initially denied any wrongdoing, but later admitted during 13 police interviews, while continuing to downplay the number of victims and the seriousness of the sexual assaults, the judge said.
“There was cooperation in identifying the victims and the crime scene… the defendant did not identify any victims who were not captured on video.”
The court also heard harrowing accounts from three victims and 20 parents about the impact of their abuse.

Griffith’s crimes spanned almost 20 years in nurseries in Brisbane and Italy.
“(You were) the one who was supposed to keep them safe at a children’s center,” one parent said.
‘Now I look at all teachers or carers with suspicion. No place is safe.
One mother said knowing what Griffith had done to her daughter would haunt her forever.
“The only time she was away from me was when I put her in your hands, something I will regret for the rest of my life,” he said.
Griffith’s appeal was filed on December 20 and there is still no hearing date.
His lawyers have argued that his sentence is manifestly excessive.
He also faces new charges in New South Wales, involving 23 alleged victims in Sydney.