THE Catholic Archdiocese of
Melbourne knew a Marianist brother was a sexual predator of children
decades ago but it was not until today his victims finally saw him
jailed.
In another scandalous blow to the church, Brother Bernard Hartman
was jailed for three years, with one year suspended, for sustained
sexual attacks on two young girls aged under 11 in the 1970s and a male
student in the early 1980s.
County Court Judge James Parrish
described the offending as “blatant” and a grave breach of Hartman's
position as a teacher at St Paul's College in Altona North.
The
decades-long delay in bringing Hartman to justice was used by him to
argue for a reduced sentence because he had lived under the burden of
his crimes for more than 40 years.
But all three victims told the
court their lives had been devastated by Hartman's offending, each
suffering anxiety and feeling they are unable to trust people.
Catholic Brother Bernard Hartman jailed for three years over sex attacks on children in 1970s and 1980s | Herald Sun
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