Parent’s bombshell claim police allegedly dismissed complaint over vile pedo Ashley Paul Griffith in 2009

Bombshell details surrounding further offending by Australia’s worst pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith have emerged – with a mother revealing her complaints about the monster were dismissed by police a decade before. Griffith, a former childcare worker, was sentenced to life in prison with a non parole period of 27 years in November for the vile offending across Queensland, dating as far back as 2003. The 46-year-old is also facing more charges related to offences which occurred across NSW childcare centres. But shocking details have revealed complaints surrounding Griffith allegedly offending against a boy back in 2009 – including how Queensland Police dismissed the complaint after determining no offence had taken place. The mother, who revealed the bombshell to A Current Affair, said her son was under Griffith’s supervision at a Brisbane childcare centre in 2007. It wasn’t until 2009 when the boy made a disclosure about the alleged abuse – after they had left the centre. “When he eventually said ‘Ashley hurt me’ and went on to provide graphic detail of sexual abuse, everything crashed into place,” the mother told the program. After taking her son to a police station she claimed they were dismissive of the alleged abuse and attributed it to a “rough nappy change”. “My four-year-old son was placed in a room with two police officers, they did not build rapport with him, and he did not talk about anything of significance to police that would cause concern in those few brief minutes,” she said. “We were then asked very few questions, and advised that there was nothing to warrant further investigation, and it was over. “We left the police station, feeling bewildered, disbelieved and possibly crazy. Our concerns were not raised by police with the childcare centre.” In a statement, Queensland Police confirmed a complaint was made against Griffith back in 2009 alleging “inappropriate touching by a childcare worker”. “Detectives interviewed the male child, who did not make disclosures of an offence to police,” a spokesperson said. “No evidence of an offence against the child has ever been identified by police.” In the same statement, police said the parent was referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). “(The parent) was advised that as part of investigations under Operation Tenterfield, police are highly confident that all the Australian children who were recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been identified,” the statement continues. They said the child was not identified in any videos or images on Griffith’s electronic devices. “The parents of all Queensland children recorded in the alleged child abuse material have been informed,” the spokesperson said. “Due to the sensitive nature and complexities of investigations involving child abuse allegations, the matter was referred to the Ethical Standards Command to further examine the response in October 2009. “As this matter is currently under investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further. “Since 2009, QPS has implemented several changes and improvements to its processes in handling child abuse cases.” Griffith pleaded guilty to all 307 charges related to the sexual abuse of children in his care. They include 190 counts of indecent treatment of children, 67 counts of making child exploitation material, 28 counts of rape, 15 counts of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, four counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of distributing child exploitation material, one count of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material. His offending spanned throughout his career in childcare, from 2003 up until his arrest in 2022 and even included offending in Italy. District Court Judge Paul Smith last month handed Griffith a term of life imprisonment with a 27-year non-parole period. By the time he will be eligible for parole, he will be 71. “This was very serious offending in terms of length and scale,” Judge Smith said. “The victims were very vulnerable and there was a significant breach of trust. “People expect their children will be protected in childcare centres.” The court was told police ultimately found more than 600 images and more than 1800 videos on Griffith’s electronic devices, which had been filmed and categorised in horrifying detail to allow him to easily view the footage at his whim. He targeted girls aged between two and seven years old, with the majority of the victims being aged between 3-5 years, the court was told. “The offending happened over a lengthy period,” Mr Smith said. “It involved many victims, many of the victims were very young and very vulnerable. “There was a significant breach of trust.”