AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Nick Dole
Former priest John Joseph Farrell has been sentenced to a minimum of 18 years for a string of sexual assaults on children in the 1970s and 80s in New South Wales.
Farrell, 62, who has previously been known as “Father F”, was convicted earlier this year of 79 offences against 12 victims.
The assaults were committed against boys and girls, around Moree, Tamworth and Armidale.
Many of the victims were altar boys, but three of the victims were girls.
In the NSW District Court, Farrell was sentenced to a total of 29 years in prison with a non-parole period of 18 years.
The court heard the offences were committed at a public pool, on church property, during car trips and in private homes, sometimes with the victims’ relatives just metres away.
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