A convicted paedophile aged in his 80s has been sent back to jail by the ACT Magistrates Court after he pleaded guilty to sex crimes against two other victims.
The Canberra man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in the Supreme Court two years ago for unrelated child-sex offences dating back to the 1970s.
The sentence was suspended in late 2018 but he now faces another five-and-a half years behind bars for indecently assaulting another two boys 40 years ago.
One of the boys was just seven years old when the "frequent and repeated" sexual crimes began, which the court heard continued for five years — until the boy was old enough to speak up and avoid the offender.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston said the offences still haunted the victim, who had suffered years of emotional struggle, shame and self-blame.
"The offender used the boys for his own sexual gratification without any regard to the experience of the boys of the adverse consequences that may follow," he said.
The man has also been convicted previously of interfering with young boys as they slept at a Methodist camp in the mid-1970s.
Offender 'ashamed' of 'repugnant' crimes
In the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, he was unsteady on his feet and had to hold the wall for support as he stood to be sentenced.
Magistrate Theakston told the man to sit and expressed concern he would fall over, before handing down an aggregate sentence of five years and six months for three offences occurring between 1974 and 1980.
The offences were "repugnant" and involved "a gross breach of trust", the magistrate said.
An agreed statement of facts tendered in court showed that authorities were aware of these events in 2011.
The magistrate said the sentence took into account the "uncertain suspense" the offender had lived with due to the delay in proceedings and the fact he had not offended in the second 40 years of his life.
"Rehabilitation appears to have already been achieved," Magistrate Theakston said, setting what he described as a relatively short non-parole period of two years.
"The offender is genuinely remorseful and ashamed of his conduct."
The man's sentence was reduced by 20 per cent because he pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators.
