Former priest, 81, gets jail time for abuse of schoolboys in the 1960s, The Guardian (UK) (April 30, 2014)

Former priest, 81, gets jail time for abuse of schoolboys in the 1960s

James Patrick Jennings knew the offences were wrong so his 'moral culpability was high', says judge Wendy Wilmoth

A former Catholic priest who abused three Victorian schoolboys in the 1960s will spend another four months behind bars.

James Patrick Jennings, 81, indecently assaulted the boys while he was a priest at St Vincent's College in Bendigo in the 1960s.

He was jailed on Wednesday for three years, but two-and-a-half years of the term was suspended.

The sentence takes into account the two months he has already spent in jail before his sentencing, meaning he will serve four more months.

Victorian county court judge, Wendy Wilmoth, said Jennings knew when the schoolboys he abused would be alone and in which dormitory they slept.

She said he was in denial over his crimes and even blamed the victims for falsifying the charges for financial gain.

Wilmoth said Jennings' crimes not only involved a gross breach of trust but an awareness his crimes were wrong.

"You were in a position of power and authority," she said. "You knew the offences were very wrong, so your moral culpability was high."

Jennings, who lives in the Huon Valley in Tasmania, was found guilty in February of five counts of indecent assault against the three boys.

He was acquitted on a sixth charge of indecent assault.

The judge took into account his age and health, which would make his jail time more onerous.