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	The Background of Brother Robert Charles Best: Convicted in 1996, 1998 and 2011 Broken Rites May 30, 2011 http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/nletter/page27.html Christian Brother Robert Best was convicted in the Melbourne County Court in June 1996 for child-sex offences. After this, more former students contacted the police, so Best was brought back to the same court again in March 1998 on additional counts. In both years, the charges involved putting his hands inside the pants of boys aged from 10 to 12 and interfering with their private parts — that is, the crime of indecent assault. In 2010 Best was brought back to the same court for a further series of hearings (regarding more victims) that continued until 30 May 2011. For legal reasons, these 2010/2011 hearings were held in a closed court, with no media reporting until the media-suppression order was lifted on 30 May 2011. These hearings in 2010/2011 resulted in Best being convicted again. Best is currently in custody, awaiting pre-sentence proceedings in July 2011. Brother Best's background Broken Rites was present in court in 1996, when it was stated that Robert Charles Best was born on 1 January 1941. He was educated in Catholic schools at Warrnambool (western Victoria) and Bundoora (Melbourne) to matriculation level. In 1960 he entered a Christian Brothers novitiate (training college) to become a Brother. He began teaching (as "Brother" Best) in Fremantle (Western Australia) in 1963 and in Launceston (Tasmania) in 1967, teaching up to Grades 6 and 7. He was active in sport and in choir practice, the court was told. From 1968 to 1973 (inclusive), Best taught at St Alipius parish primary school for boys in Ballarat East, where he also acted as the headmaster. (The name of the school is pronounced as "Saint Al-LEEP-ee-us".) While working at this school, he resided at St Patrick's College (a secondary boarding school in Ballarat), where he also supervised a dormitory. The court was told that in 1974 Best was taken off teaching and was based for a year at a Catholic house in Melbourne (then called the "National Pastoral Institute", which has since been abolished). From 1975 to 1985 (inclusive), he taught at St Leo's College (Christian Brothers) in Box Hill (in Melbourne's East), teaching Grade 6 for three years and junior secondary classes after that, the court was told. He was the superior of the ten Christian Brothers living at Box Hill. He attended school camps at Shoreham on the Mornington Peninsula, south-east of Melbourne. In 1985-89, he taught at St Joseph's College, Geelong, where he was the Year 8 co-ordinator, the court was told. In 1989-94, he taught (specialising in Year 9) at Warrnambool Christian Brothers College (also called St Joseph's) in south-western Victoria. He was the superior of the Warrnambool Christian Brothers Community, the court was told. (This school later evolved into Emmanuel College, a co-ed school). In December 1994, when Brother Bob Best was aged 53, detectives from Ballarat interviewed him at Warrnambool, regarding certain complaints relating to St Alipius school, Ballarat East. The 1996 case When Robert Charles Best was principal of the St Alipius boys' primary school in Ballarat East in 1968-73, he was aged from 27 to 32. In the 1996 case, Best was charged with eight counts of indecent assault involving five boys, aged 11 or 12, while they were at St Alipius. Judge Michael Mclnerney allowed Best to have a separate jury for each complainant. (Therefore, each jury believed that there was only one complainant and that the offence was an isolated occurrence.) Best was found guilty concerning one of the complainants and not guilty concerning the other four. Judge McInerney gave Best a nine-months jail sentence, which was suspended. The 1998 case After the 1996 case, five more complainants from St Alipius came forward. After a County Court trial in 1998, Best was found guilty on six counts involving two of the boys (one aged 9 and one aged 11). The allegations involved indecent touching. On 27 March 1998 Judge James Duggan sentenced Best to 24 months' jail (with a minimum of 12 months before becoming eligible for parole). In his sentencing remarks, the judge said Best had molested a Grade 4 boy four times as he sat next to the pupil in class pretending to take an interest in his work. He also twice abused a Grade 6 boy in the school's sick bay, the judge said. The judge said that Best's position of trust, in a religious order, made his offences worse. The judge said the victims had been unable, at the time, to lodge a complaint because Best was not only a Christian Brother but was also the school principal. He said the publicity surrounding the 1996 trial had finally given the victims the opportunity to come forward. On 23 July 1998, after three months in jail, Best won an appeal against the March 1998 conviction and received the right to be given a new trial. The police investigations of Brother Robert Best have been conducted by the Ballarat Criminal Investigation Unit. Convicted again in 2011 After the 1998 convictions, some more of Best's victims contacted the Victoria Police child-abuse unit. On 30 May 2011, it was revealed that Best was brought back to the County Court in 2010 and 2011, charged with additional counts of indecently assaulting 13 more schoolboys. The victims were students at St Alipius primary school in Ballarat, St Leo's College in Box Hill (Melbourne) and St Joseph's College in Geelong. In 2010, Best applied for the right to have separate juries for these victims, instead of having one jury deal with all the 13 victims. The Director of Public Prosecutions opposed Best's application, but the courts finally allowed Best to have separate juries. This series of trials began in 2010 but, at that time, the court placed a suppression order on media reporting during the trials. This meant that each jury was not allowed to know that there were, in fact, 13 Best victims in these proceedings. None of the juries could be told told that there had been a previous trial regarding a different victim or that further trials were to follow this one. That is, none of the juries could be told that Best was a serial offender. Eventually, on 30 May 2011, Best (aged 70) pleaded guilty to six charges as his seventh trial was due to start. The guilty plea on 30 May 2011 meant that the media-suppression order could be lifted immediately. Best had previously been convicted on 21 charges after pleading not guilty in six trials during 2010 and 2011. In all, Best has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, 27 charges involving 11 boys between 1969 and 1988. The charges include one of aggravated buggery of a nine-year-old boy, two of aggravated indecent assault and 24 of indecent assault. Aggravated buggery carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Best's pleas on 30 May 2011 averted the need for a further five trials he was due to face later in 2011. On 30 May 2011, Judge Roy Punshon adjourned the matter until pre-sentence proceedings are held in July 2011. At the pre-sentence hearing, the prosecutors and the church lawyer will be able to make submissions concerning the type of sentence that should be imposed. The media will be able to report these proceedings.
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