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Queensland’s attorney-general says the final steps to extradite notorious childcare paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith to face charges in NSW are now in the hands of the courts, after his lost appeal against a life sentence last week.
Finalisation of that matter, relating to his prolonged offending against 69 girls, will allow Griffith to face legal proceedings in NSW where he is accused of sex offences against more than 20 children.
Speaking at a Queensland Media Club event to outline her government’s response to a review into failures in the case and system more broadly, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said Griffith would now end up in NSW.
“Griffith has now just lost his appeal, and he’ll end up in NSW facing the charges down there as well,” she said, describing him as a “vile piece of work”.
Pressed for more detail on the arrangements, Frecklington said any transfer still needed to be signed off by a court, but the relevant governments had done all they needed to make it happen.
“The federal Attorney-General [Michelle Rowland, the NSW Attorney-General [Michael Daley], and I have actioned what we can do to get him moved,” she said.
Asked how soon any transfer might occur, Frecklington said only this would happen “soon”, stressing the final decision was ultimately one for the courts.
Usually, prisoners are not transferred before serving their full sentence and ongoing legal matters are finalised.
Under Queensland law, such transfer orders can be made by a magistrate after a hearing involving legal representatives of the prisoner and attorney-general.
A magistrate can refuse to issue such an order if considered harsh, not in the interests of justice, or the charges faced in the other jurisdiction are trivial in nature.
Family members of Griffith’s alleged victims in NSW, and that state’s longest-serving child abuse detective, have pushed for the man to be extradited as soon as possible to avoid delaying justice.
Frecklington has previously told Daley she had no objections to Griffith being transferred after the appeal process concluded.
Griffith’s sentence was imposed after he pleaded guilty to 307 state and federal charges involving 69 girls including rape, sexual abuse, indecent treatment, and child exploitation material offences.
In NSW, he faces charges for 180 offences committed while employed at a Sydney daycare centre.
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