Desmond Eric Richards, 76, was imprisoned for at least two years after having pleaded guilty earlier this month to abusing four boys between 1972 and 1982 while working at Christian Brothers schools in Albury, Wagga and Strathfield in Sydney’s west.

District Court Judge Peter Zahra sentenced him to a non-parole period of two years after imposing a maximum sentence of three years and three months for the offences.

As Richards was escorted from the court, one of his victims shouted “you piece of f---ing shit, I’m going to drag you back in here and see you do 30 years.”

Others voiced their disappointment with the sentence while some could be heard to say “hear hear”.

Richards was headmaster at the Christian Brothers College in Smollett Street, Albury, in the early 1970s.

The court was told Richards would use his authority as a headmaster or teacher to order the boys into his office or an empty classroom, and then molest them.

During each of the attacks in 1972, 1976 and 1982 Richards would isolate one of the boys and molest him, before subjecting his victim to weeks of physical punishment for minor transgressions.

“It’s difficult to see how the conduct continued unabated for so long,” Judge Zahra said.

“The complainants were either not taken seriously or were stalled by the order.”

In 1976, one victim, “GB”, was called into a classroom by Richards and told: “Mate, you have been in a lot of trouble at school, I can help you get your life back on track.”

He then kissed and molested the boy while holding him so he could not get away.

After the assaults, Richards would subject the boys to numerous attacks with a strap in a bid to stop them from reporting the behaviour.

One victim reported being strapped on 60 separate occasions.

“He took advantage of the vulnerability of the victims who relied on the offender for educational instruction and guidance,” Judge Zahra said.

“His violence towards them was masked as discipline but would have been directed to importune their silence through emotional manipulation.”

Richards pleaded guilty to the crimes but, somewhat bizarrely, said he could not remember the incidents themselves during his sentencing hearings.

“I honestly don’t recall the names or the boys or the actions, even though they’d certainly stirred me with the (victim) impact statements which really rocked me,” Richards told the court earlier this year.

When asked why he pleaded guilty when he could not recall engaging in the conduct, he said: “Because I cannot recall that I didn’t do it.”

In 2006 Richards was convicted of indecent assault on a male in 1980 and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

The court heard that he may have suffered some vascular degeneration in recent years which might explain a degree of memory loss, but the evidence was far from conclusive.

Judge Zahra noted Richards’ frail condition, advanced age, numerous cancer treatments and signs his brain had lost mass, which might affect his memory.

Outside court Richards’ lawyer, Greg Walsh, said: “Though Brother Richards will find it difficult in jail — he’s 76 and in very poor health — obviously there needed to be general and specific deterrence.”

Richards has not taught in a Christian Brothers’ school in 29 years.

One of his victims said he was happy his fight to be heard had finally ended.

“For 40 years I’ve been telling my story and finally someone has listened,” he said.

“I can move on.”