One of Australia's most prolific paedophiles pleads guilty to over 300 crimes | World News

A former childcare worker accused of being one of Australia's biggest paedophiles has pleaded guilty to raping, sexually abusing and exploiting dozens of girls.

Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, of the Gold Coast, was faced with 307 charges in a Brisbane court on Monday.

Several victims and their families gathered in court for the hearing, ABC reported.

Judge Anthony Rafter took more than two hours to read out all the charges, which affect around 60 children.

Many of the victims were under the age of 12 and were in Griffith's care.

After the charges against him became public last year, police accused Griffith of being one of the country's worst paedophiles.

Griffith was first arrested in 2022 for creating child sexual abuse content.

One year later He was accused of 1,623 crimes against 91 children.

However, some charges were dropped and ABC reported that Monday's charges involved about 60 children.

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The crimes occurred between 2003 and 2022 in 12 different locations in Australia and in Pisa, Italy.

Griffith is in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.

The court considered that the verdict could take more than two days to allow time for the victims' statements to be read, ABC reported.