Former childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, was given a non-parole period of 27 years in 2024 after pleading guilty to hundreds of sexual offences spanning almost 20 years.
Griffith's lawyers Gnech and Associates confirmed an appeal had been lodged on behalf of the 46-year-old, on the grounds the sentence was manifestly excessive.
It is understood the appeal was filed before Christmas and is yet to go before the courts, which could take months.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli called the lodgement of the appeal "horrendous" and vowed that his government would intervene.
"When parents send their kids off, they want them to be safe, and that was an abhorrent breach of trust," he told reporters on Thursday.
'"We will be defending our position forcefully."
Griffith had pleaded guilty to 307 offences, including ongoing sexual abuse and making child exploitation material, against 65 victims aged one to nine beginning in 2003.
He pleaded guilty to 28 counts of rape against girls primarily aged three to five at childcare centres in Queensland between 2007 and 2022.
In sentencing submissions, his defence sought between 25 and 30 years' imprisonment with a minimum 15 years non-parole as his crimes were not as violent or extreme as other Queensland sex offenders who had been jailed for life.
However, the prosecution sought life imprisonment with a minimum of 30 years without parole for his "calculation and perversion" in targeting children while they slept or by taking them to isolated areas of childcare centres.
Victims told the judge their lives were shattered while parents spoke of irrevocable pain and guilt. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
Brisbane District Court Judge Paul Smith imposed a life sentence with a non-parole period of 27 years, saying Griffith was "depraved and has a high risk of reoffending".
The judge said Griffith filmed all but one victim as he sexually assaulted them and there was a chance the videos he shared with others would "live forever on the internet".
Judge Smith said Griffith initially denied committing any offence but later made admissions during police interviews while still downplaying his crimes.
Dozens read impact statements during the sentencing, with victims telling the judge their lives were shattered while parents said they felt "irrevocable pain and guilt".
Judge Smith noted there had been significant harm to a number of victims and their families which he expected to continue.
Griffith was arrested in 2022 when police searched his Gold Coast home and found more than 4000 child abuse images and videos on his devices documenting the majority of his offending.
Griffith is also subject to an arrest warrant for child sexual offences allegedly committed while working in NSW between 2014 and 2018.
Premier David Crisafulli hopes Griffith's appeal will not delay the childcare system review. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)
Queensland's Family and Child Commissioner Luke Twyford is conducting a review of the childcare system in the wake of Griffith's offending.
Mr Crisafulli hoped the review would not be delayed due to Griffith's appeal, however it may make it more complex.
"Clearly this appeal will bring some complexities into that case, but I still remain committed to doing that review, because I don't think we can wait and leave the system without putting a spotlight over it," he said.
"I think Mr Twyford is is the right person to be able to manoeuvre the way through that complexity."
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
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