Australia: Former child care worker admits sexual abuse of dozens of underage girls

A former child care worker in Australia has pleaded guilty to raping and sexually abusing dozens of minors who were in his care for more than 20 years.

The worker was identified as Ashley Paul Griffith.

Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, admitted to committing 307 crimes in daycare centers in Brisbane and Italy between 2003 and 2022, a Queensland court heard on Monday, according to the BBC.

The court found that most of the former child care worker's victims were under 12 years old.

Several victims and their families were present in the courtroom during the hearing.

The parents of one of the young victims, whose identity cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, described the “horrific” moment when they were told their daughter had been sexually abused, ABC News reported.

“We see how people in [to the daycare centre now]and I [think]This happened to my child in this room,” the child’s mother told the news channel.

The child's father told the news channel that it was “hard to believe” how someone could “get away with something like this for so long.”

Australian police arrested Griffith in 2022.