Victims of a former school counselor who sexually abused 10 boys in the 1970s and 1980s have applauded his sentencing to 28 years in prison.
At the time of the offenses Allan Keith Huggins was working as a counselor at O’Connor Catholic College in Armidale and at a clinic in the northern New South Wales town.
In the Downing Center District Court in Sydney, Judge Penelope Hock found the 77-year-old guilty of 36 offenses against the victims, who were teenagers and pre-school boys.
Some were students at the school, while others met with him in private counseling sessions.
This is the second time Huggins has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing boys in his care, an offense he also committed in Western Australia.
Judge Hock said the Crown’s case against him was compelling.
“The victims were impressive and completely credible witnesses,” she said.
Victims and their supporters applauded after the verdict was announced
Huggins will be eligible for parole in 2040 at the age of 93.
He denied all allegations and said he ever knew some of the victims and other people associated with the case.
Allan Huggins was sentenced to 28 years in prison for sexual offenses against young boys. (Facebook)
Outside court, victim Phil Wright said the result was the final confirmation of all those moments when he doubted justice would ever come.
He said he has been seeking justice for 43 years and “it’s been a long time coming.”
“I realized that there is still some semblance of justice left in our system, and all the faith that has weakened over the years is being restored.
“Today’s verdict is an incredible result not only for the victims who came forward in this case, but also for those who are no longer with us, including several of my classmates.
“It destroyed my life, it changed the path I was on.
“The jury members came back with a strong message that this is unacceptable. It was unacceptable then, it is not acceptable now.”
Garry Faint and his wife Melanie after sentencing in the Sydney Downing Center District Court. (ABC News: Mario Conti)
Another victim, Garry Faint, was sent to BoysTown after he complained to the police and his parents about the crime, but no one believed him.
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“It was a difficult journey to get someone to believe the story, to go to the police at the beginning and no one believed, and then to get to where he is now,” he said.
“A long time has passed and it has been very difficult to trust anyone in this whole situation.
“It’s hard to come out of the closet and say something about it to all these boys, but we have to do it, we have to come out and say things, come out and stop these pedophiles.
“I hope he suffers like we all do. I hope he suffers in hell for a long time.”
History of offenses
In 2015, Huggins was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for sexually abusing seven boys in the early 1990s.
He was 68 at the time and was found guilty of 16 offenses committed while running the program at Warminda School in the Perth suburb of East Victoria Park.
Six of the victims attended school and the seventh boy was privately counseled by Huggins.
The boys were between 13 and 17 years old, and some of them were wards of the state who were in conflict with the law.