A paedophile teacher who abused dozens of primary school students over several decades may die in jail, with a judge lamenting a "catastrophic" failure of authorities to intervene sooner.
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Multiple victims attended court in Wodonga and Melbourne to see the 78-year-old punished.
Some victims, who are now adults, had kept their abuse secret since it occurred and others reported it to family members or their schools, but weren't believed.
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One man targeted by Reynolds in the North East said the sentence wasn't enough and slammed the Department of Education for failing to act earlier.
"I think he should have got longer," the man told The Border Mail.
"He never showed any remorse to any of us.
"How the hell did the Education Department get it so wrong?
"How many lives had he hurt, and yet they let him keep on doing it."
Judge Gabriele Cannon was critical of authorities and noted the first complaint was made in February 1960, which failed to deter him.
Reynolds was further put on notice about his abuse in 1980 and 1988, and had been allowed to continue working.
He didn't stop abusing children until 1992 when another complaint was made, and Judge Cannon said previous police investigations hadn't led to charges.
"There were catastrophic failures which saw you being able to continue to teach and continue to offend," she said.
Judge Cannon noted Reynolds could have stopped, but refused to, and wondered what impact intervention could have had.
"All these failures fundamentally stem from your offending and your refusal to stop when put on notice that people in authority were aware of complaints made against you," she said.
Reynolds brazenly molested students during class or in libraries.
Three members of one family were targeted.
"There is absolutely nothing that you did that you ought feel any shame or guilt about," the judge told victims.
"The only person who ought be legitimately feeling these things, is you, Mr Reynolds.
"For many of you, the legal process has been most difficult, and as some of you said, you wished you had not taken part.
"However, you are to be congratulated and thanked on behalf of the community for your tremendous courage in taking part in the investigation and these proceedings.
"Without people like you, who are prepared to come forward and make complaints ... offenders like Mr Reynolds may well not be brought to justice."
One victim targeted multiple times each week by Reynolds said the teacher ruined his life.
He was one of several men who attended his sentencing on Thursday.
"It's a relief," he said, "but I've got to live with it".
The man had been delivering The Border Mail in November 1992 when he saw a story about the paedophile being sentenced in Wangaratta for similar matters.
He received only a fine for the 14 counts of indecent assault.
Reynolds again avoided jail in October 2013 on two counts of indecent assault.
"It was all spread all over The Border Mail," the man said of the 1992 matter.
"It was right in front of my eyes and I was a bit peeved off about it (the sentence).
"I'm just glad it's come back round.
"I thought he'd gotten away with it."
Wodonga sex offence investigators recently delved back into the case, with charges laid relating to 36 boys and two girls.
The North East man said he had thought for some time he was the only victim.
He was abused three or times a week for two or three years.
"I'm just glad that some justice was done," he said after the 79-year-old was jailed for a nine-year minimum, 12-year maximum.
Another victim lost a friend to suicide and believes the late man was abused.
"When the police approached me, it was on his behalf and mine that I did it," he said.
"What s---s me is they sent him away (from the school) and they got him back.
"It's just wrong.
"The Education Department has got a lot to answer for.
"It's played on my mind all the time.
"I don't talk to anyone in my family because they didn't believe me.
"It's had a lot of impact on me."
The legal action brought up memories the man thought he'd "buried away".
"I wanted to see the sentence," he said.
"I wasn't going to come because it made me so cranky.
"I wanted to come to make sure the bastard went inside.
"I just hope the bastard rots there."
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