Blamey House Kew: Carer Terry Finighan sexually abused boys
Horrific sex attacks by a carer at a Kew boys home have been revealed more than 40 years on. Find out why the now “compassionate” carpenter won’t spend a day behind bars.
Inner East
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Teenage boys living at a Kew orphanage in the 1970s were woken to their carer sexually assaulting them, a court has heard.
Terry Finighan, 68, was handed a three-year suspended jail sentence when he fronted the County Court last month, having pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent assault upon a male.
The Heathcote carpenter was aged 20-22 when he molested two boys while working at Blamey House as the supervisor on Wednesday evenings.
Both of Finighan’s victims woke to his sex attacks in the middle of night.
The first, a 14-year-old boy, was alone in a room when he woke to find Finighan lying behind him, molesting him.
Finighan apologised to the boy later that morning, asking him not to tell anyone.
He then went on to assault his second victim about once a month for a year.
The boy, was also 14 when the assaults began, woke to Finighan performing oral sex on him as he lay in a shared bedroom.
Finighan then whispered for the boy to go upstairs with him and left the room.
When the victim didn’t follow him, he returned to the boy’s bed and shook his shoulder, repeating the instruction.
The court heard the victim followed out of fear, going to another bed with Finighan where they performed oral sex on each other.
A similar course of events continued on about 11 other Wednesday nights, with Finighan offering the victim money after he said ‘no’ before the last incident.
The court heard the victims were still affected by the incidents 45 years on, having felt anxiety, shame, guilt and had their relationships affected by what happened in their youth.
It was heard Finighan himself had been a resident of the children’s home, which was run at 1267 Burke Rd, Kew until 1977, when he was aged 16-19.
Finighan lost both his parents as a young child then was the victim of violence before he was sent to live at Burwood Boys Home then Blamey House.
The court heard a psychologist believed Finighan’s moral culpability was impaired during the crimes because he was psychosexually and psychosocially immature and suffering PTSD at the time.
The psychologist told the court Finighan wasn’t attracted to the boys’ age, and saw them as equals.
Finighan went on to establish a carpentry business and remained single throughout his life.
He didn’t commit any further crimes and numerous references given to the court described him as “a kind, compassionate and caring man”.
The court heard he had cancer and had asbestos in his lungs and had pleaded guilty early after police charged him in 2019.
Judge Trevor Wraight suspended Finighan’s prison sentence for three years.
“Based on the 45 years that have passed without any further offending, I accept that your rehabilitation has been achieved,” he told Finighan.
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