When parents, children and staff raised concerns about childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith, their complaints were often “dismissed or minimised”.
WARNING: This story includes descriptions of child sexual abuse that readers may find distressing.
A damning report has found significant red flags were ignored, as Griffith went on to become one of Australia’s most notorious paedophiles.
Griffith was sentenced to life in prison last year after pleading guilty to more than 300 charges committed in childcare centres in Brisbane and Italy over almost two decades.
A review by Queensland’s Child Death Review Board has now identified 18 points or “missed opportunities” where his offending could have been disrupted or stopped.
Sexual assault support services:The ‘mean man named Ashley’
The first known complaint about Griffith was in 2009 when a parent raised concerns with police and the Office for Early Childhood Education and Care (now known as ECRA).
Griffith was working at a childcare centre — given the pseudonym “Centre BY” in the report — when a child disclosed to their parent that the “mean man” named “Ashley” would hurt them during nappy changes and change them when he didn’t need to.
The child recalled that the man would hold them with his hips close to them and “hurt their back.”
Griffith is appealing his sentence of life in prison handed down last year, with a non-parole period of 27 years. (Supplied)
The parent also reported that a picture had been taken of their child without permission. It was alleged that the man took photos of children, developed them in his house and then sold them to parents.
But despite the child’s young age, police only spoke to them about the complaint one month after the report was filed.
“This is significant for such a young child and may have impacted their capacity to recount the incident to officers,” the review found.
Griffith was not identified as the suspect and was never interviewed about the complaint.
The report found it was “unclear what steps, if any, were taken by officers to identify the offender”.
Parent raised concerns but ‘nothing changed’
That same year, a parent’s instincts were “alert” when Griffith took their girls to his office to play alone on his computer.
Notorious childcare paedophile jailed for life could have been stopped sooner
They were also concerned that he let the children crawl all over him.
They shared their worries with Centre BY, but said “nothing changed”, according to the report.
“We addressed this with the daycare leadership and told them it wasn’t appropriate, but nothing changed,” they said.
The report found the centre’s management and leadership in response to this complaint was a missed opportunity.
Griffith fired after three weeks, but reason not recorded
Griffith only worked at a childcare centre — named “Centre BS” in the report — for three weeks in 2018 before he was terminated immediately during his probation period.
But the reasons for Griffith’s termination were not recorded.
In interviews with the regulator in 2025 — after Griffith had been sentenced to life in prison — the manager at the time of his termination said it was due to him failing to follow best practices by having children sit on his lap, as well as his lack of engagement with staff and children, and poor programming.
The review found Griffith dealt with a parent complaint relating to a child he was later convicted of abusing. (Supplied/ABC News: Sharon Gordon)
While working at the centre, a parent told the manager that something about Griffith “made her feel uneasy”, including an incident when their daughter could not be located one afternoon during pick up.
“Despite this being an apparent breach of the national law as the child was reportedly not being adequately supervised for that period, there were no documents available to indicate that any such incident was notified to ECRA,” the review found.
The parent also questioned why the child had been changed into spare clothing.
The girl was later identified as a victim-survivor of Griffith.
There were no records of the parents’ concerns to the centre.
Griffith ‘overly physically affectionate’ with children
In 2021, Griffith was the director of a childcare centre, listed in the report as “Centre EA”.
In May that year, a staff member at the centre recalled witnessing Griffith standing behind a young girl, rubbing her shoulders and kissing her on the head.
The staff member reportedly spoke with the centre’s operations manager, who also witnessed the incident.
The review found a childcare centre report which described Griffith as “overly physically affectionate” was not shared with QPS or ECRA. (Supplied)
The manager spoke to Griffith about it, but the review found the centre failed to recognise grooming behaviour and report the incident to the regulator.
By October, a colleague complained to Queensland Police Service (QPS) and ECRA that they witnessed Griffith kissing a five-year-old child in the outdoor fort during rest time.
QPS interviewed the witness and Griffith but decided not to progress the investigation.
The centre also investigated the incident and reported Griffith was “overly physically affectionate”, tickled and touched children, took selfies with children on iPads, and built close relationships with parents.
That report was not shared with QPS or ECRA, according to the review.
Griffith handled complaint by parent, whose child he was later convicted of abusing
Three months later, in December 2021, a complaint was made by a parent, alleging that a female teacher had touched her daughter under her underwear during rest time.
As director of the centre, Griffith handled this complaint and made a report to ECRA.
The complaint was ultimately found to be unsubstantiated, but neither the suspected teacher or Griffith were interviewed by police as part of the investigation.
Following Griffith’s arrest in 2022, he told police the child may have been confused about the teacher’s identity. He was later convicted of offences against the child.
The review found there was “no recognition” by centre management, QPS or ECRA of similarities between the October and December complaints, despite the same police officer having handled both matters.
“This includes that they both occurred during rest time, and that the offender was present at the centre for both incidents,” the report found.
“The parent of this child expressed their view that the complaints made to police should not only be connected to the person alleged to have done the wrong thing but also the centre.”
A review into Ashley Paul Griffith’s offences found his activity could have been “detected and disrupted earlier”. (Supplied/ABC News: Sharon Gordon)
‘Every missed detail is a potential opportunity for harm’
While highlighting “missed opportunities, lapses, and systemic failings”, the report also pointed to the “highly skilled investigative work” that ultimately uncovered Griffith’s offending.
“Above all, this success serves as a powerful reminder that while prevention systems must be strengthened and systemic safeguards improved, the commitment, skill, and creativity of law enforcement remain one of the most vital lines of defence in protecting children from abuse,” it said.
“It reinforces the value of resourcing, supporting, and expanding these specialist capabilities — because every missed detail is a potential opportunity for harm, and every identified clue can mean the difference between ongoing abuse and a child’s freedom and safety.”