Craig Warner appealing against 24 year jail sentence for sexually abusing six boys for over a decade

A man who secretly abused six boys for more than a decade under the guise of a trusted neighbour said his sentence should be reduced because his “good character” wasn’t taken into account.

A paedophile who robbed many boys of their childhood under the guise of a “trusted neighbour” wants to see light at the end of the tunnel for his hefty jail term.

Craig Anthony Warner, 42, applied to the Court of Appeal arguing his sentence for his “deeply depraved” sexual abuse of six boys for over a decade was too high.

Warner was jailed for 24 years, with a non-parole period of 19 years and two months by Judge Timothy Heffernan in December.

John Lyons, for Warner, told the Court of Appeal they believed Judge Heffernan’s sentence gave no weight to his genuine contrition and previous “good character”.

Mr Lyons said there should have been some concurrency in Warner’s sentence because the victims all visited his house in either Whyalla or Mawson Lakes.

“Justice can be done by, of course, giving him a hefty sentence but not a sentence to the extent that was given here,” he said.

“There should be some room for some light at the end of the tunnel, some room for him to think it worthwhile to rehabilitate himself.”

Mr Lyons said Warner was “hot-wired” from an early age into the behaviour and lived a “sad and tragic” life because of his own sexuality.

Martin Hinton KC, for the prosecution, disagreed and said there was limited scope for any concurrency, considering the offending involved separate children, separate occasions and continued offending.

“The sentence is not manifestly excessive,” he said.

Mr Hinton told the court Warner’s prior good character shouldn’t be taken into consideration, considering he committed the offending under the guise of a “trusted neighbour”.

During Warner’s sentencing, the court heard the first two victims were brothers who would hang out at Warner’s house and play computer games.

Warner performed fellatio and other sexual acts on them, with his abuse spanning over four years in Adelaide.

Warner then moved to Whyalla in 2011 and abused two more boys, with one victim saying it was “so repetitive and frequent” he could not recall how many occasions there were.

The fifth and sixth victim who Warner abused also lived in Whyalla.

The court previously heard multiple victim impact statements, including from one of the Whyalla victims, who was only nine when the abuse started.

“Having to endure his sick, twisted needs, all in an attempt to fulfil his pleasures, is something I would not wish upon my worst enemy,” the victim said.

“A young, bright boy who had their entire world in front of him was robbed of his childhood and instead was gifted lifelong trauma.”

Craig Warner is appealing against his 24 year jail sentence for sexual abuse of six boys. Photo: istock.

Warner, of Parafield Gardens, pleaded guilty to five counts of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child and indecent assault.

During sentencing, Judge Heffernan said Warner had groomed his victims in a “cunning and a very deliberate way”.

“For a period of about a decade you maintained secrecy, manipulation and deception,” he said.

“You carefully cultivated the persona of being a loyal friend, a cheerful and helpful neighbour and someone who could be trusted around young boys.

“That was a sham.”

Chief Justice Chris Kourakis and Justices Mark Livesey and Samuel Doyle have reserved their decision.