‘Very happy’: victim’s joy over pedophile’s appeal fail
Rex Martinich |
The family of a girl assaulted by one of Australia’s worst pedophiles hopes interstate victims receive justice soon after an appeal by the notorious predator failed.
Ashley Paul Griffith, 48, may be extradited to NSW to face almost 200 child sexual offences after his bid to reduce a life sentence for years of childcare centre assaults was dismissed.
Griffith’s lawyers had argued the 27‑year non‑parole period he was handed for 307 offences committed on 69 young children over almost 20 years was ”manifestly excessive”.
One of his victims bravely attended Brisbane’s Court of Appeal on Friday to see Justice David Boddice hand down the decision to dismiss the appeal during a brief sitting.
“We are very happy with today’s outcome,” the victim’s mother said outside court.
“We don’t think he deserved any reduction in sentence after everything he has done to all those victims.”
The appeal’s conclusion clears the path for Griffith to face court proceedings in NSW, where he is accused of committing 180 sex offences against more than 20 children.
The mother said her “heart goes out” to all the alleged interstate victims in NSW.
“We hope that he is moved to NSW as quickly as possible so he can face them,” she said.
NSW Police on Friday told AAP it was exploring available options to bring a “man to NSW to face charges here whilst serving his sentence in Queensland”.
The victim and her family, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, sat in the Court of Appeal as the judgment was handed down and a scathing written decision was issued.
The three appeal justices said the violent depravity and life-long effects on children and parents from Griffith’s offending overwhelmed any assistance he gave to police after being arrested.
They said his offending had caused a widening ring of grave hurt and trauma and called for a sentence with “very significant deterrent effect”.
In refusing the appeal, the justices said the original District Court sentencing judge’s finding that Griffith was not actively remorseful was correct.
“(Griffith) does not identify any specific errors in that sentence,” they stated.
“The true position is that it is difficult to overstate the extent of the harm wrought by (Griffith) over the 20 years of his disgraceful offending.”
Griffith had pleaded guilty to 307 child sex offences against 65 victims aged between one and nine.
It included 28 counts of rape against girls mainly aged three to five at Queensland childcare centres between 2007 and 2022.
The justices said Griffith had corroded trust in childcare and the people who worked alongside him.
The appeal was focused on the parole eligibility date, with the defence arguing that while a life sentence was open, the minimum term effectively imposed a harsher punishment than in similar cases of extreme child sex offending.
Defence barrister Sarah Cartledge told the panel of three judges during a hearing in May Griffith’s crimes were ”truly awful” and he had preyed upon ”the most vulnerable” while in a position of trust.
However, she said Griffith had co‑operated fully and openly since his arrest, giving about 18 hours of interviews.
”His extensive co‑operation and guilty plea saved an enormous amount of court time and spared child complainants from giving evidence,” she said previously.
The victim’s mother said outside court she understood Ms Cartledge was doing her job but it was hard to hear the claimed grounds for appeal.
“It cuts very deep to hear someone argue that a rape isn’t violent,” the mother said.
“All rapes are violent.”
Throughout two decades of preying on children, Griffith filmed all but one of his victims, building a vast cache of abuse he shared online.
When detectives raided his Gold Coast home in 2022, they seized more than 4000 child abuse images and videos documenting much of his offending.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
AAP