'Scumbag Pedophile Priest' Jailed For 19 Years

Catholic cleric abused children aged as young as five at Australian schools

A Catholic cleric, who described himself as a "scumbag pedophile priest," has been jailed for nearly 20 years for abusing 25 children in Australia.

John Sidney Denham, 67, pleaded guilty to carrying out attacks on boys as young as five years old at schools in New South Wales between 1968 and 1986, The Australian newspaper reported.

Judge Helen Syme spent at least three hours summing up the charges. “The indecent assaults involved multiple children, often significant planning, were frequently sadistic and overall persistent, objectively serious, criminal courses of conduct,” she said, according to the newspaper.

“The offender's actions contributed to a culture of fear and depravity, especially at the school, which allowed these disturbing offences to occur and then remain unpunished for years.”

Denham was sentenced to 19 years and 10 months, with an order that he serves a minimum of 13 years and 10 months before being considered for parole.

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