A man has told a court how his adolescence was stolen after he was raped by his Junee High School teacher to satisfy the educator’s “sexual perversions” more than four decades ago.
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Junee’s Carl William Doherty, 82, is facing 22 sexual assault charges relating to seven different victims across 15 years.
Two victims stood up in Wagga District Court on Monday to deliver their impact statements.
One victim told the court Doherty had taken him to places “no young boy should ever have to go” using “ongoing control”.
“As a 12-year-old boy in the mid-60s I had my adolescence stolen from me,” he said.
“The anal rape wasn’t the worst of it, it was his ability to convince others.
“This was a man who would’ve been respected by the school, the parents and the community.”
The victim said he wished he had told his story years prior in order to “save some other boys” but was never encouraged to report Doherty to police.
“He took me to places any young boy should never go to – for himself – to gratify his own sexual perversion,” he said.
“For the last two-odd years [since coming forward] I’ve struggled with everything imaginable.”
Doherty has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecently assaulting a male, seven counts of buggery and one of attempted buggery between 1965 and 1980.
The incidents occurred across the Riverina and surrounds, including in Doherty’s car on the side of the road and in a shower on school grounds.
A second victim choked back tears as he broke his 45 years of silence, revealing his difficulty with relationships since the incident.
The man said he started high school as a confident child but had since been thrown into emotional turmoil.
“I was very confused about my sexuality and how to act with girls,” he said.
“It was hard to talk to them about emotions and I worried I would make them feel the way I felt when Carl assaulted me.
“My relationships were doomed to fail from the start.”
Barrister Christine Mendes, who represented Doherty, told the court her client was remorseful for what was a “significant breach of trust”.
The case will be mentioned again on March 29 where a sentence date is expected to be set.