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	Pedophile Christian Brother Robert Best's Appeal an Insult - Victims By Joel Cresswell Herald Sun September 20, 2011 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/pedophile-christian-brother-robert-bests-appeal-an-insult-victims/story-e6frf7jx-1226142054531 Robert Charles Best, 70, was jailed for a minimum of 11 years and three months in August for sexually abusing young boys during a 20-year period at three Victorian schools. Best was found guilty at trial of 21 charges, including the rape of a nine-year-old disabled boy, and later pleaded guilty to a further six. All 27 charges related to 11 boys he taught at St Alipius Primary School in Ballarat, St Leo's College in Box Hill, and St Joseph's College in Geelong between 1969 and 1988. He lodged the appeal against his convictions on the first 21 charges on September 1. Steven Woods, who has waived his right to anonymity, fell victim to Best while attending St Alipius in the 1970s and described the appeal as insulting to the victims. "It's a heinous act. It just shows the depth of his refusal to take responsibility for his crimes," he said. "Both he and the Christian Brothers have lost all their credibility, so this is merely a legal tactic he's trying to pull. The Christian Brothers have not expelled Best, and are believed to have spent in excess of $1 million defending him in court. The order refused to speak to AAP today, but a public relations company engaged by the Brothers said they were not funding his appeal. Mr Woods said it was likely there were more victims yet to come forward and called on those men to speak out in response to the appeal. "Now would be a good time for more victims to come forward in an attempt to publicly counter this push to reduce his sentence," he said. A second victim, who did not wish to be named, said the appeal dredged up the past. "It's the kind of action that strikes hard at the pain victims of his actions continue to feel," he said. "When you add the fact that the Catholic Church has not thrown him out of their organisation ... I think Catholics throughout Victoria can only agree that we need a proper state-based inquiry into the church's reporting mechanisms regarding those in their midst who rape children." Victims are campaigning for Attorney-General Robert Clark to order an inquiry into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Victoria.
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