Priest Jailed 5 Years for Sex Assaults on Young Girls

Herald Sun
April 19, 2012

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/priest-jailed-5-years-for-sex-assaults-on-young-girls/story-fnat7dhc-1226333258489

A FORMER Catholic priest has been jailed for at least five years for sexually abusing girls as young as eight.

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Brian Spillane, 69, was convicted today of eight charges of indecent assault on a female younger than 16 and one count of indecently assaulting a female aged 16 years or more.

The charges relate to abuses during the 1970s and 1980s when Spillane was a priest working in both Sydney and country areas of New South Wales.

In sentencing Spillane, Judge Michael Finnane called each assault "serious, planned and callous".

He said Spillane's position as a priest and his "standing in the community" allowed him to gain access to the homes of his victims, many of whom came from devout Catholic families.

Some of the offences occurred when Spillane was alone with his victims in their bedrooms for night-time prayers.

One happened in a car after he'd said mass at a memorial service.

"He was very trusted and the parents of each of the victims readily gave him access to their daughters because of that trust and the esteem in which he was held," Judge Finnane told Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.

"The victims in this trial were all girls to whom he got access when he was conducting parish missions or ... when he was visiting a country town.

"It was sexual abuse carried out by a trusted priest and was a major breach of trust."

The judge said Spillane had shown no remorse and no contrition for his offending "which means that there can be little hope of rehabilitation".

But he noted Spillane's age and said in all other respects the former priest had lived a "blameless life".

Taking into account time already served, Spillane will be eligible for parole in November 2015.

His sentence will expire on November 29, 2019.