A childcare centre manager credited with trying to expose one of Australia’s worst paedophiles is now fighting to clear her own name after being accused of sharing confidential material.
Grandmother Yolanda Borucki has been portrayed as a whistleblower whose actions could have put an end to Ashley Paul Griffith’s crimes against children nearly a year before he was finally caught.
Griffith pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Monday to 307 offences, including 28 counts of rape, 67 counts of making child exploitation material and 190 counts of indecent treatment of a child.
He also admitted to 15 counts of repeated sexual abuse of a child and seven of possession and distribution of child exploitation material.
Australians were horrified in August last year when police revealed the Gold Coast childcare worker, whose name could not be released at the time, had been charged with 1,623 offences against 91 girls.
Griffith’s crimes, all of which he recorded, were committed over 15 years between 2007 and 2022 while he worked at 10 childcare centres in Brisbane, one in Sydney and one in Italy.
Assistant Superintendent Justine Gough told a news conference: “The AFP had no information from the parents or anyone else prior to this man being arrested and charged.”
Three days later, Ms Borucki, 59, appeared on A Current Affair claiming she had been involved in reporting Griffith to police in October 2021 after a colleague saw him kissing a sleeping girl at a Brisbane childcare centre.
The nursery director credited with trying to unmask one of Australia’s worst paedophiles is now fighting to clear her own name after being accused of sharing confidential material. Yolanda Borucki is pictured leaving court
Griffith was suspended while police investigated the allegations, which could not be proven, and returned to working with children.
Local detectives investigating Griffith’s complaint did not search his home or examine his electronic devices.
Griffith was arrested in August 2022, by which time he had reportedly already abused at least four more girls, but the extent of his crimes was not publicly revealed until 12 months later.
The October 2021 complaint was not filed by Ms Borucki, but by another employee of the childcare centre operator, the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland.
The Queensland Police Service confirmed that Ms Borucki was not the whistleblower who tipped them off and was never a witness in their original investigation.
Ms Borucki’s appearance on A Current Affair came four days after she was fired by her former employer.
Six days after Ms Borucki told her story to Nine, the Uniting Church reported her to police for allegedly hacking into a computer to access confidential information.
Five days later, detectives from Task Force Argos, Queensland’s specialist team that hunts the state’s worst paedophiles, executed a search warrant at Ms Borucki’s home.
Yolanda Borucki was the manager of a Brisbane chain of childcare centres run by the Uniting Church of Australia, Queensland, when Ashley Paul Griffith (above) was reported to police by a colleague in October 2021 after he was seen kissing a sleeping girl.
There, they seized several electronic devices and subsequently charged Ms. Borucki with one count of computer hacking.
“It is alleged the woman unlawfully accessed confidential documents relating to her former employment at a Brisbane childcare centre and distributed those documents to other individuals,” police said at the time.
‘These documents allegedly contained private information about children who were allegedly victims of abuse, their families, and a man who allegedly committed sexual crimes against those children while they were in his care at the relevant child care facility.’
That person was Griffith, who could not be identified until October 3 last year, when a change in Queensland laws allowed accused rapists to be identified.
“It is alleged that these documents were accessed and made public after the charges were brought against him,” police said. “The affected families have been notified and are being provided with ongoing support.”
Police allege Ms Borucki hacked into the computer on August 3, three days after she was fired, while she still had a work laptop and phone in her possession.
In the year since Griffith’s crimes became public, Borucki has been repeatedly portrayed as a whistleblower who had unsuccessfully tried to expose him.
A Facebook page set up by her supporters is filled with comments describing her as a hero who should never have been charged with hacking.
Members of Task Force Argos, whose grueling work has been praised internationally since the unit was created in 1997, have come under fire for pointing the finger at her.
Australians were horrified in August last year when police revealed that Griffith, who could not be named, had been charged with 1,623 offences against 91 girls. He appears in a court portrait drawn on Monday
“Argos is very upset by all the information that has been published about this matter,” said a police source. “It has been very hard for them. They do an incredible job.”
“If they receive a complaint about hacking, they have a duty as police officers to investigate.”
Daily Mail Australia has posed a number of questions to Queensland Police about the role Ms Borucki played in the October 2021 investigation into Griffith.
(Mrs. Borucki) “He is not listed as an informant or witness in the aforementioned complaint filed with the Queensland Police Service,” a spokesman said.
The United Church was unable to comment on the piracy allegation against Ms Borucki, but said she had been responsible for reporting Griffith to police.
“In October 2021, the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland lodged a complaint with the Queensland Police Service,” a spokeswoman said.
‘We responded quickly and cooperated fully with the investigation.
‘We are committed to the safety and well-being of children and vulnerable people, and we share the horror of our community if any child is harmed.
“We cannot comment further on the case, Ms. Borucki, as it is still before the court.”
Ms Borucki brought an unfair dismissal action against the United Church in the Fair Work division of the Federal Court, but discontinued the case in June.
Griffith became an AFP target in August 2022 when officers traced a quilt featured in images and videos posted on the dark web to a Brisbane childcare centre where she had worked.
On Monday, Griffith pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to 307 child sex offences. The parents of one of his victims are pictured outside court.
Investigators seized Griffith’s electronic devices and began reviewing nearly 4,000 images and videos he had created to view and share with other pedophiles.
Ms Borucki is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court for a hearing on November 25.
She told Daily Mail Australia she could not comment on the hacking charge, her role in Griffith’s report to police or anything else relating to her previous employment.
“We’ll see what happens in November,” Borucki said.
Griffith will return to Brisbane District Court on September 9 to discuss setting a sentencing date.