A New South Wales court has heard a former well-known mayor, Order of Australia recipient and homelessness advocate used his "clear power" over vulnerable boys to sexually assault them in the 1970s and '80s.
Former Central Coast mayor Laurence "Laurie" Maher, 84, is on trial in the Sydney District Court for the alleged sexual abuse of four boys while he was superintendent of the Mount Penang Training School, a juvenile justice facility, near Gosford.
