The Frail Monster with a Walking Stick: Victims Cheer As Catholic Teacher Is Jailed for at Least Eight Years for Horrific Abuse during 15-year Reign of Terror

By Belinda Grant
Daily Mail
June 18, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3129146/The-frail-monster-walking-stick-Victims-cheer-Catholic-teacher-jailed-eight-years-horrific-abuse-15-year-reign-terror.html

A former Marist Brother has been sentenced to at least eight years in prison for sexually abusing 19 schoolboys in Catholic schools across New South Wales.

Francis William Cable, also known as Brother Romuald, was found guilty on four counts of buggery and 21 counts of indecent assault.

The 83-year-old preyed on school boys he taught at Marist colleges at Maitland, located in the Lower Hunter Valley, and Pagewood, located in Sydney's eastern suburbs, between 1960 and

Francis William Cable, also known as Brother Romuald, was found guilty on four counts of buggery and 21 counts of indecent assault

Victims cheered as Judge Peter Whitford handed down the sentence in Sydney's District Court on Thursday.

According to the ABC, Judge Whitford said Cable's 'abhorrent' behaviour was fuelled by a need for sexual gratification and that his 'predatory conduct' persisted because he failed to understand the impact his 'cruel' actions had on his young victims.

He said the 83-year-old systematically abused his position of power as a teacher and school master to prey on the vulnerable school boys.

'[Cable was] capable of determining their vulnerability. Indeed it seems he might have picked his victims because of their frailties.'

The court heard that Cable physically assaulted victims who attempted to rebuff his advances.

The 83-year-old preyed on school boys he taught at Catholic Schools Marist colleges at Maitland, in the Lower Hunter Valley, and Pagewood, in Sydney's eastern suburbs between 1960 and 1974

When a young boy resisted the disgraced brother, he pressed his thumbs into the boy's eye sockets to stop the student from biting.

The court heard Cable had molested some of his victims during one-on-one sex education classes, during swimming excursions and while he played games with them at the beach or local baths.

On other occasions, Cable asked the boys to stay back after school before he forced them to perform oral sex, rape them and then hit them to ensure their silence.

During one instance of abuse, Cable blessed one of his victims in Latin following the sexual assault and said: 'Remember, our little secret'.

The court heard that Cable physically assaulted victims who attempted to rebuff his advances

A victim told the court the abuse he experienced in school caused him to think of himself as 'the lowest form of life, the dirt beneath people's feet'

Judge Whitford said this kind of offending is particularly 'abhorrent' because of the 'profound impact' it has on the victims life.

Cable's victims had a chance to articulate the pain and suffering caused by the former teacher's actions during sentencing.

The Daily Telegraph reported that one man said the abuse he experienced in school caused him to think of himself as 'the lowest form of life, the dirt beneath people's feet'.

He went on to say he would bleed for extended periods as a result of Cable's troubling actions which stole his 'innocence and dignity'.

It is understood he also told a victim: 'I can do what I like, you are not a Catholic and you have no say in anything'.

The tech drawing teacher was given a maximum sentence of 16 years and will not be eligible for parole until March, 2023.

The tech drawing teacher was given a maximum sentence of 16 years