Queensland Corrective Services identified Ashley Paul Griffith as a prisoner facing 202 new charges in New South Wales, following his conviction in Queensland for offenses involving 69 girls.
New South Wales Police (NSW Police) said a 48-year-old man from Queensland was charged over allegations involving 23 children, ages one to five, at a childcare center in Sydney’s inner west. Police said the alleged conduct spanned July 2014 to December 2017. The police release did not name the man; Queensland Corrective Services identified Griffith as the transferred prisoner facing the charges.
Police listed 68 counts alleging sexual intercourse with a child younger than 10, and 42 aggravated counts alleging that offense when the accused had authority over the child. The remaining charges include 69 counts of aggravated indecent assault and 23 related to producing child abuse material.
NSW Police said they arrested the man at Silverwater Correctional Facility on Oct. 30 and remanded him in custody. Queensland Corrective Services said Griffith had been transferred to New South Wales on Oct. 28. Police said Strike Force Boorong opened its investigation in November 2022. Detectives examined thousands of digital files and worked with law-enforcement partners across Australia; the Australian Federal Police assisted through Operation Tenterfield. Police said victim identification and support for families were priorities.
A Supreme Court of Queensland document says Griffith pleaded guilty in 2024 to 307 offenses. Queensland Corrective Services says he is serving a life sentence, with a 27-year non-parole period. The agency links his earlier offenses to 69 girls at early-learning facilities in Brisbane and Italy across two decades. It said he would stay in New South Wales custody until the current legal process ends, then serve his sentence in the state with the longer term.
A December 2025 report from the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) used Griffith’s earlier case to examine Queensland safeguarding systems. The report said information remained divided among organizations, limiting the possibility of earlier intervention. Luke Twyford, chair of the Child Death Review Board, said the earlier offending “could and should have been detected and disrupted earlier.” The review examined Queensland systems and made no findings about the current New South Wales allegations.
ABC News reported that the court formally refused bail, although no bail application had been made, and adjourned the case until January.
