A former Catholic priest who abused teenage boys from his diocese in South Australia's mid-north has been jailed for at least five years by the District Court in Adelaide. Charles Alfred Barnett pleaded guilty to five sex charges against four boys between 1977 and 1994.
The offences were committed in Port Pirie and Crystal Brook.
Judge Paul Rice said there were good prospects for rehabilitation but noted that Barnett knew what he was doing was legally and morally wrong.
Barnett has been in custody since he was arrested in Indonesia in 2008.
Judge Rice took into account the year in an Indonesian prison before his extradition and set a head sentence of seven-and-a-half years.
Bishop of the Port Pirie Diocese Greg O'Kelly has issued a statement expressing his profound sorrow and regret to all the victims.
He welcomed the sentencing as an important step in a long healing process.
