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

Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, from the Gold Coast, faced 307 charges at a court in Brisbane on Monday.

Several victims and their families had gathered at the court for the hearing, according to broadcaster ABC.

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

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

Police accused Griffith of being one of the country’s worst ever paedophiles after the charges against him were made public last year.

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

A year later he was charged with 1,623 offences against 91 children.

However, some charges were dropped and ABC reported Monday’s charges related to around 60 children.

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The offences happened between 2003 and 2022 in 12 different locations across Australia as well as in Pisa, Italy.

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

The court heard sentencing could take more than two days to give time to read victim impact statements, ABC reported.

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