SERIAL paedophile Edward Smith "Ted" Hall, it appears, will go to his grave maintaining that of his accusers are lying.
Everyone, now up to 10 victims during his time as a teacher at St Pius X, has an axe to grind and a reason to lie. They all colluded, according to Hall, and were motivated by "spite and revenge".
On Friday, the sadistic sex offender and former teacher had another eight months added to his already lengthy jail term after he was convicted of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy who he lured to remote bushland under the ruse of a "shooting trip" in 1974.
Hall, who is already serving a maximum 20-year jail term for sexually and indecently assaulting nine other former students between 1973 and 1986, will now be eligible for parole in December, 2032, at the age of 82.
Judge Ian Bourke, SC, found Hall had "deliberately isolated" the 15-year-old boy in remote bushland for the purposes of "dealing with him sexually" and it was "very likely" Hall was later involved in having the boy expelled from St Pius X to silence him.
He said Hall maintained his innocence in the face of being found guilty of assaulting 10 victims and failing to have his convictions overturned in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
"[Hall] is still in the relatively early years of his lengthy sentence, but has taken no steps towards rehabilitation and has shown not the slightest indication of any remorse for any of the serious predatory crimes he has committed," Judge Bourke said.
It was during a hearing in the Court of Criminal Appeal, when Hall represented himself, that his true feelings about his convictions and crimes were revealed.
Everyone else was to blame and Hall was the real victim, he told the court.
"I am a victim of a clear miscarriage of justice from falsehoods and lies that were clearly concocted and revenge from years past," Hall wrote. "Spite was also involved. "There is also fraud involved with the complainants, seeking a free handout from the state government under false and spurious pretences.
"I've been sitting here for over two years, or just over two years now for something that I did not do. Now, how - how we come to address this is beyond me, because as I say the damage has been done. How can I ever go back and live my life?"
