Those with sex abuse and pedophilia issues were sent to the United States to undertake courses, to reflect on their lives and change their worrying/criminal behaviours.

Prolific offenders Gerald Ridsdale and Paul David Ryan went, and committed more crimes against children in the US.

READ MORE: Father John Fitzgerald: 'Overwhelmingly the ribbons represent shame'

Many others from Warrnambool were sent - like the reverse of Australia being set up as a penal colony - exporting pedophiles.

Currently there are six former Warrnambool clergy members in prison - Ridsdale, Ryan, Robert Best, John Laidlaw, Robert Claffey and Edward Dowlan.

From the early 1960s until the mid '90s there was hardly a time when there was not a pedophile clergy member serving as a brother or priest in the city.

The US offending seemed pretty minor in comparison to what happened at home.

Until now.

The church is being sued by 24 victims of now deceased brother Kenneth Paul McGlade in Connecticut.

He died in 2013.

McGlade was a teacher and executive director at the Mount Saint John Academy in Deep River, which was run by the church for at-risk children with behavioural, emotional, family and educational problems.

McGlade, known as Brother Paul, still causes nightmares for one Warrnambool man now in his early 60s, who we will call Darren.

Darren was 10 years old when McGlade raped him upstairs at CBC in 1969 while his classmates played footy at Allen Oval.

The victim has a life-long reminder of the abuse.

Darren started chewing his finger nails after being assaulted.

He no longer has a nail on his left little finger.

For years Darren hid the finger under his hand, embarrassed by the disfigurement he had claimed was caused by a wart.

Now, he's ready to explain what really happened.

"I've made a statement to police but I didn't get a day in court because McGlade passed away," Darren said.

"I did see a note that he was sent by the church over to Connecticut in 1989.

"That note said it was hoped that McGlade would grow beyond his 'current province image of a person of self pity and scape-goating'".

The now 61-year-old said he was willing to tell his story in support of other victims, either here or in the United States.

He said he was in grade five at Warrnambool's Christian Brothers College when he was first assaulted.

"We used to go to football on Thursday mornings," he said.

This Thursday morning Br McGlade called me into his office for flicking stuff around in art on the Wednesday.

"I thought I might get the cuts. Everyone else went to Allen Oval.

"We were in the Canterbury Road campus, up on the second floor."

The victim said he was first asked to repeat 50 times - 'I must do as I'm told' by the large Christian brother who ruled his classes by fear.

"Now I know it was a type of grooming," he said.

The brother pulled him up to front of the class room, pulled down his pants and abused him.

"I still get flashbacks," he said.

The then 10-year-old said he was his own father's blue-eyed boy.

"My main concern was that if I said anything to anybody Dad would have done 25 years in jail for murder.

"I didn't say anything for 43 years."

Darren said a similar attack happened a fortnight later, but during that assault the brother became distracted.

"He heard something in the middle of it. He half turned away," he said.

"There was a metre ruler, which I picked up and smacked him with it across the back and back of his neck.

"I ran straight out the door.

"I reckon I hit the steps once on the way down and went to the Botanic Gardens, where I hid in the old toilets with the door bolted from the inside."

Darren said he put his back against the toilet door in fear about 9.50am and stayed there for about five hours.

"At 10 minutes to 3pm I sneaked to the bike rack, grabbed my bike and went home," he said.

"From that day I carried my scout pocket knife.

"The plan was that if he ever tried to penetrate again I would stick him with that.

"The only other time he came near me was the day of the moon landing.

"There was a black and white TV downstairs at CBC. Brother Paul grabbed me by the arm.

"He was pulling me down the stairs, his grip was getting tighter and tighter and I lifted up my foot and stomped on him as hard as I could before running off.

"He never looked me in the eye ever again."

The victim said he was moved to another class: "I was never so happy."

Darren said he also reconnected with his grade three teacher who was instrumental in bringing Ridsdale to account for his abuses at Mortlake.

"I lived with it for a long time. It would come up at all sorts of times during my life, often when I should have been at my happiest," he said.

"I told my wife what happened the week before our daughter got married in 2012.

"My wife thought I was having an affair because I was acting so strangely building up the courage to tell her.

"I went to the Royal Commission in 2016. I'm now getting help through a clinic psychologist and I'm taking civil action against the Christian Brothers.

"It feels like I've ripped the top off a scab. I'm having cold sweats and wake up dreaming he's on top of me."

The victim said he always knew there would be other victims of Br McGlade.

"I saw something on the internet. I was not surprised," he said.

"I knew I wasn't Robinson Crusoe. I was just the tip of the iceberg.

"The day after he attacked me I started chewing my fingernails, so bad I've got no nail on my left little finger.

"I used to hold it under my hand so no one would see it. If anyone asks now I tell them. I did nothing wrong. It wasn't my fault."

Darren said he hoped he got an apology and/or compensation for the depression he suffered over many years.

"It's not about the money but money is one of the few things they understand in the Catholic Church," he said.

"We were a very Catholic family growing up. It wasn't just mass on Sunday.

"It was four times a week going to our grandparents' home saying the Rosary.

"We were well and truly brain washed. It's been a big issue to tackle.

"Hopefully I can work through it."

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