Former Queensland Christian Brother Brian Dennis Cairns Gets Five Years' Jail for Abusing Children

ABC News
January 13, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-13/former-qld-christian-brother-jailed-for-child-abuse/5197936

A former Queensland Christian Brother has been jailed for the second time for abusing children in Catholic schools.

Brian Dennis Cairns, 72, worked as a Brother, teacher and a school principal during the 1970s and 1980s at four Catholic schools in Brisbane.

In 1985, he was found guilty of 43 offences relating to indecent treatment of children and served four-and-a-half years in jail.

Since then, more victims have come forward.

Last year Cairns was charged with 44 additional offences, the majority relating to his time as a teacher at Iona College during the 1970s.

He pleaded guilty to the charges, including two counts of sodomy, and a Brisbane District Court judge today jailed Cairns for five years, suspended after nine months.

Outside the court, some of the victims expressed disappointment, saying the sentence was far too lenient.

"[It's] pretty short for the lifetime we have been carrying," one said.

"Very disappointed, actually, we expected a little bit more," another said.

But his lawyer Viktor Supranowicz expressed concern.

"My client was convicted some 37 years ago, which is a long, long time for now these matters to be resurrected," he said.

"It seems a little unfair to keep coming back, coming back, coming back. They should draw a line in the sand somewhere along the line."