Pervert fronts court decades after sexual offending

A vile serial sex offender whose many victims included a TV star has been unmasked as an evil predator whose offending ruined many young lives and families across Victoria.

Peter White has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for sexually abusing young boys and girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

TV star Madeleine West has been revealed as one of the victims of a serial pedophile who has finally been brought to justice for shocking child sexual abuse he committed in the 1970s and 80s.

Peter White, 73, was on Wednesday sentenced by the County Court to 15 years behind bars who pleaded guilty to 33 sex offence charges.

His victims, flanked by a large number of family and friends, attended the sentencing and some intermittently turned around to eyeball White as Justice Amanda Chambers read out the harrowing and lengthy details of his offending.

Madeleine West, who starred as Dee Bliss in Neighbours, was one of seven children Peter White sexually assaulted decades ago.

White bowed his head throughout and wore a cross affixed to a chain.

When White entered guilty pleas in September to 33 child sex offences against seven children, West posted on her Instagram, “we won … guilty, guilty, guilty”.

“Today’s ruling is the best Christmas gift we could wish for. It took 40 years to deliver and now it’s here ... tomorrow looks bright.”

She had posted earlier this month about her experience in court reading out her victim impact statement, demanding White face her.

“He wept, looked away. And time and again I demanded he meet my gaze, for the first time in his miserable life show a shred of integrity by looking at me and listen,” she posted on Instagram.

She has consented to being named in the Herald Sun.

The actor, who also starred in Underbelly and House Husbands, earlier this year penned an open call out to all survivors of child sexual abuse and a warning to predators.

White preyed on seven boys and girls aged between four and 14 in a small central Victorian town and Sunbury between 1977 and 1988.

A professional woodfire heater installer, White abused the children in bizarre and cruel ways, manipulating their childish playful nature into performing the degrading sexual acts by telling the children they were “repugnant games”.

Peter White abused seven children in bizarre and cruel ways, manipulating their childish playful nature into performing degrading sexual acts.

White groped children’s genitalia, penetrated children with his fingers, raped them with his penis, exposed himself to them on multiple occasions.

“By any measure, your offending was extremely serious, the community rightly regards repetitive sexual offending against children as repugnant,” Judge Chambers said.

“Mr White, you can be in no doubt your offending has had a profound and devastating impact on their lives.”

Peter Vincent White leaves Bendigo Court with a supporter on June 14, 2023. Picture: Julieanne Strachan

White told a clinical psychologist, who diagnosed him as having pedophilic disorder, that he didn’t know why he started and stopped sexually abusing children.

He said perhaps he was “young and stupid” which, Judge Chambers said, showed his lack of insight into his ”egregious” conduct for his own sexual gratification.

White will have to serve at least nine years before he is eligible for parole.