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	Ex Catholic Priest Sentenced to 5 Years' Prison for Abusing Boys Radio New Zealand April 27, 2006 http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200604272006/1248c17c A former Catholic brother, from the St John of God order, has been sentenced to five years' imprisonment for sexually abusing boys at a Christchurch school in the 1970s. A High Court jury last month found Bernard Kevin McGrath, 58, guilty of 21 charges and not guilty of a further 23. The charges related to nine victims, who were aged between seven and 15 years. Justice Chisholm said Thursday he was sceptical that McGrath felt remorse; saying the aggravating features of McGrath's offending included breach of trust, the duration of the offending, and the deep harm suffered by his victims. In reaching the sentence, the judge said he took into account the time McGrath had already served following convictions in the 1990s for similar offending. Supporters of the men sexually abused by McGrath are angry at the sentence. Ken Clearwater, who chairs the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, says the five-year sentence is an insult to the victims, who had been hoping for a longer sentence, and some closure.
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