Paedophile Ashley Griffith Extradited to NSW to Face Nearly 200 New Charges
A victim supporter hurled abuse at Griffith in court as his transfer to face charges in another Australian state was approved.
Ashley Paul Griffith, 48, a former childcare worker convicted of 307 child sexual offenses, will face nearly 200 additional charges in New South Wales after an extradition order was granted in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
A victim supporter expressed her outrage during the hearing, shouting expletives and condemnations at Griffith as he was led from the courtroom. Magistrate Belinda Merrin approved the application for Griffith's transfer to New South Wales.
Griffith was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 27 years in Queensland in November 2024. He has since been charged in NSW with 180 child sexual offenses allegedly committed against 23 girls at a Sydney childcare center between 2014 and 2017.
The application for Griffith's transfer to NSW was filed on behalf of NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley. Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington had previously sought to expedite the transfer, but the process was cleared in June after Griffith's appeal against his Queensland sentence was dismissed.
Griffith's barrister, Matt Black, did not oppose the transfer application. The magistrate did not specify a date for the transfer.
During his two decades of offending in Queensland, Griffith filmed all but one of his victims and shared a large collection of abuse material online. A police raid on his Gold Coast home in 2022 uncovered over 4,000 child abuse images and videos documenting his offenses, which involved 65 victims aged between one and nine. These included 28 rapes of pre-school-aged girls in Queensland childcare centers.
Griffith appeared impassive during the court proceedings, dressed in a green hooded jacket and thongs. He was jailed in November 2024 after pleading guilty to 307 child sexual offenses.