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	Child Molesting Teacher Cops 10 Years By Courtney Trenwith Brisbane Times October 4, 2010 http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/child-molesting-teacher-cops-10-years-20101004-1641y.html A Toowoomba Catholic school teacher who committed brazen sexual assaults on 13 students has been sentenced to 10 years in jail. Gerard Vincent Byrnes, 61, pleaded guilty earlier this year to 44 sex abuse charges, including 10 counts of rape and one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child. Byrnes was the school child protection officer at the time of the offences, between January 1997 and September 2008, and all of the victims were girls aged nine and ten and students in his classes. At least three of the victims claim they were abused after the school principal and the Catholic Education Office failed to act on another student’s complaint that she had been sexually abused by Byrnes. Today's sentencing in the Toowoomba District Court means Byrnes will automatically be declared a serious violent offender, which carries a minimum eight year jail term. He has already served 22 months in pre-sentence custody. Shadow Attorney-General Lawrence Springborg called on the Attorney-General to appeal the sentence. "[The offences were] a breach of trust of his position," Mr Springborg said. "The fact he will serve less than three months behind bars for each offence he committed, and less than a year for each victim he abused is an indictment of the justice system under this long term Labor Government. "This sentence is clearly out of step with community expectations and the Attorney-General must appeal." The Attorney-General has been contacted for comment. Following the sentencing, Toowoomba Bishop Bill Morris reiterated the church's offer of compensation to the victims' families. In July, Bishop Morris made a stunning admission over the church's liability for the sexual abuse. He apologised to the victims and their families and offered an "expeditious" resolution to compensation claims. Bishop Morris said the Toowoomba Catholic diocese had since appointed a Diocesan Student Protection Officer and a child protection visibility audit of all school classrooms and buildings had been undertaken. "Unfortunately, I cannot change what has happened. However, I remain committed to doing everything in my power to ensure events such as these never happen again," Bishop Morris said in a statement today.
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