THE credo of the Muswellbrook Youth Centre was simple; "to provide a safe, supportive environment for young people".
It was supposed to be a place where at risk teenagers or vulnerable kids having trouble at home could get away and play pool and video games or undergo programs relating to drugs and alcohol, sexuality, self-esteem, anger management or conflict resolution.
Instead, it was a predator's playground and a number of the troubled kids who went to the youth centre between 1982 and when it closed in 1995 were left scarred for life.
The youth centre was funded by the Department of Community Services and at least one victim was referred there by a DOCS worker, unaware where she was sending him was a place far worse than home.
One of the founders of the Muswellbrook Youth Centre was Neville Roughan, also known as Neville Knight, a sadistic paedophile and half-brother of killer Katherine Knight, who used his position as centre director and as a youth worker to prey on vulnerable children.
Roughan "took the boys under his wing", grooming his victims and supplying them with drugs before repeatedly sexually abusing them.
Later, more victims came forward to make similar allegations and the charges ballooned to more than 100 at one point.
But in September, he pleaded guilty to 33 charges, including multiple counts of sexual and indecent assault and supplying drugs in relation to the abuse of 10 young boys over a nearly four decade period between 1967 and 2003.
He faced a sentence hearing in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Monday and sat and listened as five of the victims outlined the profound impact of his many crimes.
"I've suffered so many issues throughout my life," one man said. "First and foremost, my innocence was taken away. I felt that there was nobody I could trust. I felt isolated. I constantly questioned why this happened to me. My emotions are all over the place. They range from extreme anger to the point where I wanted to harm myself or the offender, to fear, sadness, anxiety, guilt, and shame."
The man said he had been diagnosed with a number of mental health issues, battled drug addiction and struggled to maintain schooling, employment and relationships.
And, as he finished his emotional victim impact statement, the man directly addressed Roughan, who looked small on the TV screen inside the courtroom, sat on a chair in a room at Long Bay jail.
"You can sit there and grab that cross, mate," the man said. "Where you're going it ain't gonna help ya."
Public Defender Tony Evers said Roughan had been diagnosed with dementia and his memory and capacity to understand the reason he is in jail will likely decline over time.
Mr Evers said the jail term Roughan would receive would "almost inevitably" result in him dying in jail.
Roughan will be sentenced on December 4.
As well as Roughan, detectives in 2021 charged a second Muswellbrook Youth Centre worker with historical child sexual assault.
He had pleaded not guilty and was due to face a trial in October last year, but died two days before it was expected to start.
According to police, Powell was in a vehicle that was travelling at high speeds on Stoney Creek Road, Wauchope, when it crashed into a large gum tree.
Powell was the only occupant of the vehicle, which burst into flames, and he died at the scene.
Roughan was the son of Barbara Roughan, who later married Kenneth Knight and gave birth to twin girls.
One of the twins was Katherine Knight, who would grow up to become the first Australian woman to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole when she killed and skinned her partner at Aberdeen before cooking parts of his body.
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
