Judge Julian Leckie adjourned yesterday’s plea hearing in Warrnambool until February.

Mamo, 68, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Monday to seven charges of unlawful and indecent assault of a child under the age of 16. 

On Monday the victims, who were boys at the time the offences occurred, told the court of being taken into a dark basement at Hamilton’s Monivae College and being indecently assaulted by Mamo from 1976 to 1980.

Judge Leckie said he had memories of sentencing practices from when the offending occurred and since then sentencing practices had changed significantly.

He said in the 1980s the indecent assault of a boy under 16 by a person in a position of trust would be dealt with differently.

Mamo was aged between 31 and 35 when the incidents took place and was a brother of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Australia, which operated Monivae College. He undertook laundry duties, ground works, was bus driver and coached hockey at the college.

On Monday the court heard of one incident when Mamo had ordered a victim, who was 11 at the time, to the laundry room for punishment and was instructed to drop his shorts and underpants and to bend over an old tea chest in the middle of the room. As the boy did so Mamo produced a thick leather strap and hit him 10 to 12 times.

Prosecutor Justin Lewis said on another occasion Mamo was strapping the same victim over the tea chest when the boy turned to see Mamo had one of his hands down the front of his pants. Mamo saw the boy looking and yelled at him to face the front.

In victim impact statements read to the court, the men told of fear, humiliation and disbelief that someone wanted to do this to them. One said he had lost trust in all human beings.

Defence counsel Peta Murphy said Mamo offered his plea of guilty to the victims as an apology for the hurt they had experienced.

The plea hearing was adjourned until February 20 in the Country Court,  Melbourne.