Todd Hubers van Assenraad jailed for 22 years for persistent abuse of boys

An “unrestrained” pedophile with links to a controversial “cult-like” church who sexually abused nine boys has been sentenced to more than two decades behind bars.

Todd Hubers groomed and abused nine boys from the Geelong region over several years.

An “unrestrained” pedophile who caused widespread damage has been sentenced to more than two decades behind bars.

Todd Hubers van Assenraad, also known as Todd Hubers, fronted the County Court at Geelong on Tuesday, where he was jailed for a minimum of 16 years and six months – and a maximum of 22 years and 10 months – by Judge Gerard Mullaly.

Hubers, 38, pleaded guilty to 16 child sex offences in August last year, before the IT professional’s offending was laid bare at a plea hearing in November.

Fifteen charges related to active sexual abuse, including five counts of persistent sexual abuse, while the last related to Hubers’ possession of more than 1600 files containing child abuse material.

Hubers sexually abused nine young boys aged between six and 12 from the Geelong region between 2016 and 2023.

The Geelong Advertiser has chosen not to publish details of Hubers’ “sordid” crimes, which Judge Mullaly described as “very grave examples” of child sexual abuse.

Hubers brought “enduring pain and sadness”, Judge Mullaly said, leaving behind “heart-wrenching”, devastating and long-lasting impacts on the victims and their families.

“The damage you caused is widespread … you were unrestrained,” Judge Mullaly said.

Hubers, unshaven and wearing a suit, sat silently in the dock as he listened as Judge Mullaly speak for more than an hour.

He only spoke when asked to confirm his identity.

Hubers, a regular churchgoer, was a member of the Geelong Revival Centre, a controversial Pentecostal group based in Norlane.

Five former members of the church, widely described as a “cult”, were in the public gallery.

There were a number of aggravating factors that elevated Hubers offending, including the age and number of victims, and Hubers’ “admitted and pedophilic sexual attraction to young boys”.

This was a “deep-seated and abhorrent disorder” and given his willingness to act on it, meant the community’s protection weighed heavily in his sentence.

During his police interview in January 2023, days after his abuse came to light, Hubers admitted to having accessed child abuse material for 25 years, and spoke of his attraction to boys aged between eight and 12.

Judge Mullaly said Hubers’ chances of reform hinged on his engagement to treatment, given pedophilia was “diabolically difficult to treat, minimise or more so reverse”.

Hubers’ moral culpability was high, the court heard, his conduct an “attack on the social values we all hold dear”.

“You knew with crystal clarity what you were doing was profoundly wrong, but you went ahead anyway,” Judge Mullaly said.

Judge Mullaly told the court Hubers grew up in Geelong and came from a religious and supportive family.

He developed an interest in pornography in his late teens, before moving to child abuse material he sourced from the dark web.

Hubers had the 734 days he’s spent in custody reckoned as time served and must register as a sex offender for life.

Judge Mullaly said if he hadn’t pleaded guilty, Hubers would have faced a maximum of 27 years behind bars.

Originally published as Todd Hubers van Assenraad jailed for 22 years for persistent abuse of boys