Source : Perth Now news
Australia’s worst pedophile will be extradited to face further abuse allegations after his heinous crimes prompted the creation of a powerful child protection watchdog.
Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington has confirmed Ashley Paul Griffith, 48, will be sent to NSW after his failed bid to reduce a life sentence for years of childcare centre assaults.
“Griffith is a vile piece of work,” she told the Queensland Media Club in Brisbane.
A scathing review into his offending spanning almost 20 years has sparked an unprecedented $250 million child safety overhaul, which was unveiled by Ms Frecklington on Tuesday.
A Queensland Protection Commission will be set up as a dedicated child safeguarding body with responsibility for the reportable conduct scheme, child safe standards and working-with-children checks.
It will be backed by a permanent intelligence hub drawing on experts and data from health, education and law enforcement authorities to share information, spot patterns of risk earlier and force faster responses when concerns are raised.
Griffith, a qualified early childhood educator, received a 27 year non-parole sentence in November 2024 for 307 child sex offences against 69 children – most under five – at 22 early education and care services.
He is also set to face almost 200 child sexual charges in NSW after the Queensland Court of Appeal recently dismissed his argument that his sentence was excessive.
Ms Frecklington said Griffith’s Queensland appeal was now finalised, paving the way for him to be transferred interstate.
NSW and federal attorneys-general had signed off on the extradition.
A final decision on timing rested with the court but the transfer was expected soon.
The 10-month review into Griffith’s conduct found there were more than 18 separate points where his offending could have been detected or disrupted earlier, including five clear missed opportunities to stop or expose him.
Instead, repeated failures to introduce a promised reportable conduct scheme left dangerous gaps in the system, allowing him to keep abusing toddlers and preschoolers while parents believed their children were safe.
“Can there be a more brutal betrayal than child sexual abuse? I sincerely doubt it,” Ms Frecklington said.
“If we are to rebuild a child safety system that absolutely acts in the best interests of the child, truth and transparency cannot be a casualty.”
Griffith did not lurk on the margins, Ms Frecklington said, but “operated in plain sight” as an educator trusted by thousands of families who handed over their children daily.
The review uncovered what she called a “litany of failure” – siloed information, fragmented responsibilities, insufficient thresholds for action against offenders, poor record-keeping and “enormous sector and inter-agency gaps”.
It concluded the introduction of a reportable conduct scheme, recommended by a 2017 royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, could have led to Griffith being stopped on up to five separate occasions.
“The complacency was a broken promise to Queenslanders and a devastating misstep for the growing toll of Griffith’s innocent victims who continued to be abused,” the attorney-general said.
The state government would allocate $250 million over four years to set up the Queensland Protection Commission and kickstart the intelligence hub.
The existing Queensland Family and Child Commission will be absorbed by the overhauled system.
More funding might be provided after the new commission and hub were established, Ms Frecklington said.
“Every harmed child and every impacted family is our collective pain,” she said.
“This is about protecting vulnerable children who cannot protect themselves.”
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
