RTX1BDHB
IN PHOTO: A traditional cheese and corn buns called a 'chipa' in the shape of the number three is pictured as the Antar family decorates an altar in celebration of Kurusu Ara in Asuncion May 3, 2015. Kurusu Ara, the Day of the Cross, is a Catholic festival that is combined with local Gurani culture and falls annually on May 3. Paraguayans typically celebrate the festival with chipas, used to decorate religious shrines and altars. The chipas are later distributed to attendees. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno

David Edwin Rapson was sentenced to 12 years and a half in prison for the indecent assault and rape of six boys. The 61-year-old former priest committed the offences between the 70s and the 90s.

The former priest received the maximum jail term for the second time for abusing the Victoria boys. According to court hearing, some of the victims did not even enter their teenage when they were abused. Rapson used to teach at a Catholic boarding school where he abused them.

The Melbourne County Court judge called the former priest a "sexual predator seeking sexual fulfilment at the expense of young boys." According to the judge, Rapson indulged in "cruelty and violence bordering on being sadistic".

One of the victims said that he was happy about the verdict. He said that he was “glad” that it was “finally over.” "It's impacted my life in a big way - crime, drug abuse, things like that - and because he held the position he held in the church I couldn't tell my parents or anyone like that what happened until probably four years ago,” he said. The victim called Rapson “a sadist, a disgusting person and human being.”

Another victim said that a priest had seen Rapson molest him. “God made us this way and it’s His fault,” Rapson told the priest. Their conversation indicated that the incident was a “usual practice” there.

The parents of one of the victims thanked people responsible for the “justice.” The mother said that there was an absence of practical pastoral support during the quest to bring healing and stability to her son.

Rapson was sentenced 13 years in jail in 2013. However, followed by an appeal, he was released only after one year. He faced four secret trials and was found guilty of six charges of indecent assault five charges of rape.

Rapson still insists that he is innocent. “I hope you die in jail, dog,” shouted one of the victims when Rapson walked out of court. He will be eligible for parole in 2023. Pope John Paul II defrocked Rapson in 2004 after his crimes had become widespread.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au