Pedophile priest jailed for 'sadistic' sexual abuse of schoolboys

AMONG the students of St Pius X Catholic High School, the abusive behaviour of pedophile priest John Sidney Denham was no secret.

AMONG the students of St Pius X Catholic High School, the abusive behaviour of pedophile priest John Sidney Denham was no secret.

"Bums to the wall, Denham's on the crawl" was the knowing chant that rippled across the playground and the classrooms in the 1970s when the fearsome priest was on his way.

Those that didn't manage to get out of his way suffered terribly. Denham brutalised dozens of students, and in the process ruined countless lives.

But while those in the schoolyard were clearly aware of the priest's evil reign, the authorities who were in a position to stop it, namely other teachers and priests at the schools and in the various parishes where Denham worked, simply turned a blind eye.

"The ability of the offender to continue offending for so long when there was clearly a view of him amongst the boys that he was a pedophile calls into question the role of his supervisors," judge Helen Syme told the Sydney District Court yesterday.

Between 1968 and 1986, Denham abused 39 boys aged between five and 16, at schools and parishes across the Newcastle-Maitland diocese, two hours north of Sydney. One victim told The Weekend Australian that many more people who had been harmed by Denham had not come forward. Some are believed to have committed suicide after being abused by the priest.

Justice Syme described the abuse as "frequently sadistic".

Denham started teaching at St Pius X College, in Adamstown, near Newcastle, in 1975. Almost immediately, he began abusing the students. He repeatedly anally raped some boys, either in his office or in the priests' quarters, before sending them back to class.

He ordered some students to perform oral sex on him. He demanded other boys strip naked before performing oral sex on them -- even when they were sobbing and begging him to stop.

Occasionally, he would ply boys as young as 12 with alcohol before assaulting them.

Allegations of serious misconduct soon got back to the then principal of St Pius, Father Thomas Brennan, but nothing was ever done.

"He (Brennan) at best took no action, and at worst caned the boys who complained. On one occasion, this occurred even after a complaint from parents," Justice Syme said.

Denham himself admitted that even though some of his transfers to different schools seemed to have been prompted by allegations of sexual impropriety, he had only ever received "oblique warnings" over his conduct.

Last year, Brennan was convicted of making a false written statement to protect Denham, and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

He is the only senior figure within the Australian Catholic Church to be convicted for covering up abuse.

Justice Syme said that Denham would seek to ingratiate himself with his victims' parents to gain their trust before targeting their children.

"The children were reluctant to complain of the offender's behaviour to their parents for fear of hurting them, for fear of punishment or ridicule in the school, or because they did not think they would be believed," Justice Syme said.

Now 67, Denham will be in prison at least until his 80th birthday, having been sentenced yesterday to a term of 19 years and 10 months, with a non-parole period of 13 years and 10 months.

The courtroom, which was packed with Denham's victims and their families, broke out in applause when Justice Syme handed down the punishment.

Outside court, one of the 39 complainants, Matthew Oakley, said he hoped Denham's conviction and lengthy jail term would embolden other sexual-abuse victims to speak out.

"My only hope from the result that we have achieved today is that other abused victims have the strength and courage to come forward and achieve justice," Mr Oakley said.

"Victims of abuse no longer have to hide as there is no shame in this."