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	Catholic Abuses: Pedophile Christian Brother Jailed in Australia By JohnThomas Didymus God Discussion August 8, 2011 http://www.goddiscussion.com/72921/catholic-abuses-pedophile-christian-brother-jailed-in-australia/ Robert Charles Best, 70, a member of the Catholic Christian Brother, and Australia's most notorious pedophile has been convicted of rape of 11 boys over a period of 20 years and sentenced to 15 years in jail. According to reports, as Judge Roy Punshon ordered that Robert Best be taken to the cells, the courtroom came alive with the victims and their families shouting curses and abuses after him. Robert Charles Best's sentences totaling 50 years run concurrently to a total of almost 15 years in jail. He longest sentence was six years, for rape of a nine-year-old grade three student at St. Alipius primary school in Ballarat in 1969. The court was told how Best's victim, a physically impaired boy, was beaten after he had been raped to keep him from telling anyone what happened. Most of Best's victims were molested while they were ill or recovering from illness at the school infirmary. Bests victims were mostly boys between the ages of 8 and 11. Vivian Waller, the lawyer who will be representing the victims in a civil action, described Best's crimes as "absolutely horrific" and demanded that the Church pay the victims for compensation: We'll be claiming damages for pain and suffering and for the cost of medical treatment, and other special damages that will assist these victims to recover from what they've been through Judge Roy Punshon said of Robert Charles Best who is reported to have a fetish for pre-pubescent boys: The victim impact statements … are a powerful reminder of the devastating effect of your crimes…Yours was a grave breach of trust from someone who was a teacher and a spiritual guide. Best, whose defense is reported to have been largely funded by the Catholic Church, along with other Christian Brother colleagues, abused young boys under their care in schools, terrorizing them to silence. Best was already in jail before this trial, serving four separate sentences for sexual assaults on his students between 1969 and 1988, over a total of 43 charges involving 17 boys he taught at St. Alipius, St. Leo's and St. Josephs in Australia. Robert Best was notorious among the boys he taught for violence and Judge Punshon remarked at the fact that in-spite of the seriousness of the charges against him he has not been asked to resign from the Christians Brothers by the Catholic Church. Following Best's conviction, however, the christian Brothers made an apology to Best's victims: The Christian Brothers are deeply saddened by these events, especially by the great distress and suffering caused to these victims and their families… Brother Brandon who made the statement on behalf of the Christian Brothers however refused to speak further on the issue, especially on whether Best will be dismissed. Best's sentence is the second longest, after Father Gerald Ridsdale, a colleague of Robert Best, who was jailed 18 years. The Congregation of Christian Brothers known officially as Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum is an international religious community of the Catholic Church founded by Blessed Edmund Rice to work for the evangelization and education of youth. The first school of the Christian Brothers was opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802.
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