Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised.

A former childcare worker, Ashley Paul Griffith, was sentenced to life in jail in Australia for raping and sexually assaulting almost 70 girls, all minor. He was known as one of Australia's "worst paedophiles."&nbsp;

The 47-year-old confessed to around 307 offences he committed at childcare centres in the Australian state of Queensland and Italy.&nbsp;

He committed the&nbsp;offences between 2003 to 2022, and his victims were kids from the age of one to seven.&nbsp;

While sentencing him, the judge called the offences committed by him "depraved" and "horrendous".&nbsp;

Judge Paul Smith further added that &nbsp;"there was a significant breach of trust."

Griffith was further separately accused of sexually abusing an unknown number of children in the state of New South Wales.&nbsp;

The court also added that since Griffith had a "paedophilic disorder," there was a high chance of him repeating the offences.&nbsp; Hence, the judge ordered a non-parole period of at least 27 years for Griffith.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australia-passes-social-media-ban-on-children-under-16-becomes-first-country-to-take-such-measure-779993">Australia passes social media ban on children under 16, becomes first country to take such measure</a>

Griffith was&nbsp;arrested in 2022 for sexually molesting around 1,600 children, but most of them were eventually dropped.&nbsp;

Adding to his heinous act, Griffith ruploaded videos and photographs of him sexually assaulting children onto the dark web, investigation revealed.

In all those videos and photographs, the faces of the victims were cropped, but the investigators still traced them to Griffith because of the same bedsheet visible. It was&nbsp;found that the bedsheet was sold to childcare centres across Queensland.

Griffith was charged with 28 counts of rape, almost 200 charges relating to indecent treatment of a child, and several related to making and sharing child exploitation material.

Talking to The Courier Mail, some of his victims shared their grief and the damage he left on their lives.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ex-uk-soldier-found-guilty-of-spying-for-iran-says-wanted-to-be-double-agent-780000">Ex-UK soldier found guilty of spying for Iran, says wanted to be ‘double agent’</a>

Two of his victims said he assaulted them in kindergarten when he was their favourite teacher.&nbsp;

"To find out what he was doing was devastating and brought on conflicting emotions, to say the least," one of the girls said.&nbsp;

(With&nbsp;inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised. A former childcare worker, Ashley Paul Griffith, was sentenced to life in jail in Australia for raping and sexually assaulting almost 70 girls, all minor.

Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Discretion is advised. A former childcare worker, Ashley Paul Griffith, was sentenced to life in jail in Australia for raping and sexually assaulting almost 70 girls, all minor. He was known as one of Australia's "worst paedophiles." The 47-year-old confessed to around 307 offences he committed at childcare centres in the Australian state of Queensland and Italy. He committed the offences between 2003 to 2022, and his victims were kids from the age of one to seven. While sentencing him, the judge called the offences committed by him "depraved" and "horrendous". Judge Paul Smith further added that "there was a significant breach of trust." Griffith was further separately accused of sexually abusing an unknown number of children in the state of New South Wales. The court also added that since Griffith had a "paedophilic disorder," there was a high chance of him repeating the offences. Hence, the judge ordered a non-parole period of at least 27 years for Griffith. Also read | Australia passes social media ban on children under 16, becomes first country to take such measure Griffith was arrested in 2022 for sexually molesting around 1,600 children, but most of them were eventually dropped. Adding to his heinous act, Griffith ruploaded videos and photographs of him sexually assaulting children onto the dark web, investigation revealed. In all those videos and photographs, the faces of the victims were cropped, but the investigators still traced them to Griffith because of the same bedsheet visible. It was found that the bedsheet was sold to childcare centres across Queensland. Griffith was charged with 28 counts of rape, almost 200 charges relating to indecent treatment of a child, and several related to making and sharing child exploitation material. Talking to The Courier Mail, some of his victims shared their grief and the damage he left on their lives. Also read | Ex-UK soldier found guilty of spying for Iran, says wanted to be ‘double agent’ Two of his victims said he assaulted them in kindergarten when he was their favourite teacher. "To find out what he was doing was devastating and brought on conflicting emotions, to say the least," one of the girls said. (With inputs from agencies)

Australia's 'worst paedophile' sentenced to life in prison for raping and sexually assaulting over 70 girls

The Centre has given its nod to an ordinance to amend the existing Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, allowing courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping minors.

President Ram Nath Kovind has also promulgated The Criminal Law amendment ordinance, 2018 to amend POCSO Act to pave way for the death penalty.

Key features of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, for death to child rapists.

* Minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from the rigorous imprisonment of 7 to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.

* In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has been increased from 10 to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which shall mean imprisonment till that person’s natural life.

* The punishment for the gang-rape of a girl under 16 years of age will invariably be imprisonment for the rest of the life of the convict.

* Stringent punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has been provided – minimum 20 years’ imprisonment or imprisonment for rest of life or with death.

* In case of a gang-rape of a girl below 12 years, punishment will be imprisonment for rest of life or death sentence.

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The Cabinet has approved an Ordinance to be promulgated to provide for stringent punishments for perpetrators of rape. <a href="https://t.co/PSKv8L5cW2">pic.twitter.com/PSKv8L5cW2</a>
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Speedy investigation and trial:

* Time limit for investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be mandatorily completed within 2 months.

* Time limit for completion of the trial of all rape cases has also been prescribed and it has to be necessarily completed in 2 months.

* Six months’ time limit for disposal of appeals in rape cases has also been prescribed.

Restrictions on bail:

* It has been prescribed that there will be no provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of rape or gang-rape of a girl under 16 years.

* It has also been provided that court has to give notice of 15 days to Public Prosecutor and the representative of the victim before deciding bail applications in case of rape of a girl under 16 years of age.

Strengthening the courts and prosecution:

* New fast-track courts will be set up in consultation with States/UTs and High Courts.

* Creation of new posts of public prosecutors and related infrastructure in consultation with States/UTs.

* Special forensic kits for rape cases to all police stations and hospitals.

* Dedicated manpower will be provided for investigation of rape cases in a time bound manner.

* Setting up special forensic labs in each State/UT exclusively for rape cases.

* These measures will form part of a new mission mode project to be launched within 3 months.

National Database:

* National Crime Records Bureau will maintain a national database and profile of sexual offenders.

* This data will be regularly shared with States/UTs for tracking, monitoring and investigation, including verification of antecedents by police.

Assistance to victims:

* The present scheme of One Stop Centres for assistance to the victim to be extended to all districts in the country.

In case of a gang-rape of a girl below 12 years, punishment will be imprisonment for rest of life or death sentence.

The Centre has given its nod to an ordinance to amend the existing Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, allowing courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping minors. President Ram Nath Kovind has also promulgated The Criminal Law amendment ordinance, 2018 to amend POCSO Act to pave way for the death penalty. Key features of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, for death to child rapists. * Minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from the rigorous imprisonment of 7 to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment. * In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has been increased from 10 to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which shall mean imprisonment till that person’s natural life. * The punishment for the gang-rape of a girl under 16 years of age will invariably be imprisonment for the rest of the life of the convict. * Stringent punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has been provided – minimum 20 years’ imprisonment or imprisonment for rest of life or with death. * In case of a gang-rape of a girl below 12 years, punishment will be imprisonment for rest of life or death sentence. The Cabinet has approved an Ordinance to be promulgated to provide for stringent punishments for perpetrators of rape. pic.twitter.com/PSKv8L5cW2 — Ministry of WCD (@MinistryWCD) April 21, 2018 × Speedy investigation and trial: * Time limit for investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be mandatorily completed within 2 months. * Time limit for completion of the trial of all rape cases has also been prescribed and it has to be necessarily completed in 2 months. * Six months’ time limit for disposal of appeals in rape cases has also been prescribed. Restrictions on bail: * It has been prescribed that there will be no provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of rape or gang-rape of a girl under 16 years. * It has also been provided that court has to give notice of 15 days to Public Prosecutor and the representative of the victim before deciding bail applications in case of rape of a girl under 16 years of age. Strengthening the courts and prosecution: * New fast-track courts will be set up in consultation with States/UTs and High Courts. * Creation of new posts of public prosecutors and related infrastructure in consultation with States/UTs. * Special forensic kits for rape cases to all police stations and hospitals. * Dedicated manpower will be provided for investigation of rape cases in a time bound manner. * Setting up special forensic labs in each State/UT exclusively for rape cases. * These measures will form part of a new mission mode project to be launched within 3 months. National Database: * National Crime Records Bureau will maintain a national database and profile of sexual offenders. * This data will be regularly shared with States/UTs for tracking, monitoring and investigation, including verification of antecedents by police. Assistance to victims: * The present scheme of One Stop Centres for assistance to the victim to be extended to all districts in the country.

Death for raping children: What the ordinance says

The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved an ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to 12 years of age.

Official sources said here that the criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such crimes punishment of death.

The move comes against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of girls in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua and Gujarat's Surat district recently.

The rape of a minor in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district had also outraged the nation.

The ordinance would be now sent to the President for his approval.&nbsp;

The move comes against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of girls in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua and Gujarat's Surat district recently

The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved an ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to 12 years of age. Official sources said here that the criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such crimes punishment of death. The move comes against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of girls in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua and Gujarat's Surat district recently. The rape of a minor in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district had also outraged the nation. The ordinance would be now sent to the President for his approval.

Union cabinet approves ordinance for death penalty for rape of children

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