Notorious paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith loses sentence appeal bid
Rex Martinich
Former childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith, one of Australia’s worst pedophiles, has failed in his bid to reduce his life sentence for hundreds of sexual offenses against young children.
Lawyers for the 48-year-old notorious predator in May Argued in the Queensland Court of Appeal The 27-year non-parole period given to him in 2024 was “manifestly excessive” as they sought permission to appeal.
Judge David Boddice announced the Court of Appeal’s decision to dismiss the appeal during a short hearing in Brisbane on Friday.
“The objection to the sentence was rejected,” he said.
Griffith pleaded guilty to 307 counts of child sexual assault against 65 victims ranging in age from 1 to 9 years old.
The report includes 28 cases of rape, mostly of girls aged 3 to 5, in child care centers in Queensland between 2007 and 2022.
One of the victims and his family were in court to hear the verdict.
The appeal focused on parole eligibility date; The defense argued that a life sentence was obvious, and that the minimum sentence required a harsher sentence than similar cases of extreme sexual crimes against children.
Lawyer Sarah Cartledge told the three-judge panel at the hearing in May that Griffith’s crimes were “truly egregious” and that he targeted “the most vulnerable people” while in a position of trust.
Cartledge said Griffith has cooperated fully and openly since his arrest and was interviewed for about 18 hours.
He previously said: “His extensive cooperation and guilty plea saved a huge amount of time in court and spared the child complainants from giving evidence.”
In May, prosecutors urged judges to reject the appeal, saying the sentence barely reflected the scale and brutality of the crimes.
Preying on children for two decades, Griffith filmed all but one of his victims, creating a vast cache of exploits that he shared online.
When detectives raided his Gold Coast home in 2022, they seized more than 4000 child abuse images and videos documenting many of his crimes.
The outcome of Griffith’s appeal paves the way for him to face court proceedings in NSW, where he is accused of 180 sexual offenses against more than 20 children.
AAP
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