Father Anthony Caruana’s abuse of children destroyed lives and tore families apart, court told

The men who were abused as children by a priest at a NSW school have laid bare how their lives were destroyed by his evil acts.

A pedophile priest who abused 12 boys at a NSW boarding school has been described as a “disgusting, filthy human” whose evil acts left permanent emotional scars on his victims and tore families apart.

For years Father Anthony Caruana got away with his crimes while the boys dealt with their pain without the support of loved ones who did not believe them.

Caruana sexually and indecently assaulted students, then aged between 11 and 15, during the 1980s while working at Catholic school Chevalier College in Burradoo, near Bowral.

In July, a jury found him guilty of 26 charges, including 22 counts of indecent assault and four counts of sexual intercourse with a student.

Anthony Caruana was found guilty of 26 offences by a jury. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

On Wednesday the Downing Centre District Court heard statements penned by his victims, who spoke of how the predator priest robbed them of their innocence and destroyed their lives.

As Caruana, 79, watched the proceedings via video link from prison, the court was told how the boys’ trauma at the abuse was worsened by their families’ refusal to believe their stories.

Many of them had suffered lifelong anxiety, depression and PTSD, and some had tried to take their own lives as they struggled to cope with the impact of Caruana’s heinous crimes, the court was told.

One man, who cannot be named, said prison was exactly where Caruana deserved to be and he “should have been there 30 years ago”.

The man recalled telling his devout Catholic family he had been abused by the priest as he sat across the table from Caruana, who had attended his home for a party to celebrate the man graduating college.

It was the last time the man spoke to his family as they kicked him out of home after siding with Caruana, the court was told.

Caruana was taken into custody after his trial. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

“You are the most disgusting, filthy human being I have ever met,” he told Caruana in a victim impact statement.

“And if there is a God in that sky, he wouldn’t tolerate a man like you.

“You are where you deserve to be and should have been there 30 years ago. You can’t hide behind your collar anymore.”

A common theme of the victim impact statements was how the abuse the men suffered as kids made them feel abandoned by their families and prevented them from trusting people as they grew.

They said Chevalier College was meant to be a safe haven for them but Caruana, who they once saw as a role model, took that away.

One man said he had always wanted to be a dad but his low self-esteem, emotional anguish and trust issues meant he had never had an intimate relationship.

The elderly man’s victims said the betrayal of their trust as children had impacted their whole lives. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

He imagines taking his children to play at the park but knows “this will never be a reality”.

“This is something I think about and grieve for every day of my life,” he said.

Another man remembered how Caruana groomed him by helping the boy read letters sent to him at the school by his mother.

“I looked up to Father Caruana but I now know this is how get got me to trust him,” the man wrote.

“When the abuse started I felt confused and scared. The things he did to me physically caused me pain and it felt wrong somehow.”

Although Caruana faces a lengthy jail sentence for his actions, another of his victims told the court he believed only God could truly impart justice for the deep hurt caused by the predator.

Following a lengthy trial, a jury of 10 women and two men convicted the priest of 26 out of 29 charges.

Caruana will return to court for a sentence hearing in September.