A FORMER Portland man convicted of committing a six-week campaign of sexual abuse against seven teenage girls in the Ballarat region will spend the next decade behind bars.
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John William Macfie, 70, was sentenced in the County Court in Ballarat yesterday, and will serve up to 15 years and seven months in prison with a non-parole period of 11 years.
A jury on Tuesday found Macfie guilty of 42 out of 52 charges.
Sitting in the dock at the back of the court yesterday, Macfie remained unmoved when Judge Ross Howie delivered his sentence.
A number of victims and their parents attended the sentencing, with one man shouting “rot in hell you arsehole” as Macfie was escorted out of the courtroom.
The rest sat facing forwards, choosing not to take one last look at the man who devastated their lives.
The court heard Macfie was already a convicted sex offender who had previously served 10 years in prison after two similar series of sexual offences involving girls as young as 12.
In April and May last year he sexually abused seven girls aged between 13 and 16, who all went to a secondary college in the Ballarat region.
Judge Howie summarised Macfie’s offending, telling the court he had preyed upon needy and vulnerable girls, and used a fictitious and bizarre story about becoming members of a secret mafia to trick them into performing sexual acts with him.
He said Macfie had bribed the girls with promises of money and gifts including iPhones, cigarettes, fake identification, drugs and alcohol.
Judge Howie said Macfie had told the girls about becoming princesses and warned them not to tell anyone about his crimes because they were being followed.
Macfie warned one girl she would be killed if she told the police.
Judge Howie said Macfie welcomed new girls with hugs, kisses and packages of goods, and persuaded two girls to stay overnight in his home.
The court heard the six-week ordeal ended on May 18 last year when a school principal contacted police after making enquiries about the girls’ absences.
When delivering his sentence, Judge Howie said the main purpose of his decision was to protect the community, and that Macfie’s history of offending and “foolish” conduct in court suggested he had no idea of the harm he had caused to the victims and their families.
“You showed a complete lack of remorse for your crimes,” Judge Howie said.
BALLARAT COURIER
