A former priest who sexually abused four boys at St Bede’s College more than two decades ago has been jailed for seven years and eight months.
It comes as his victims have told a court of the impact of his offending.
“It was a violation of a child – of trust, of innocence, and of dignity. It changed the course of my life in ways I’m still only discovering,” one of his victims says.
RNZ earlier revealed that former St Bede’s College priest Rowan Donoghue had admitted sexually abusing four boys at the school between 1996 and 2000.
Since then, RNZ has revealed that Donoghue admitted sexual abuse to leaders of his religious order, the Society of Mary, in 2007. However, he was unable to identify the anonymous complainant and instead of notifying police, the order sent him to Australia for a six-month programme that provided “professional risk assessment and therapy” for people accused of sexual abuse.
It was also revealed that St Bede’s College had been notified nearly 20 years ago of allegations involving Donoghue.
On Wednesday, Donoghue was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court by Judge Jane Farish to seven years and eight months imprisonment. She did not impose a minimum term of imprisonment.
Sentencing began with the victim impact statements being read.
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