A child sexual abuse survivor has called for 25-year mandatory sentences for all pedophiles.
Mark Lawrence told the sex abuse royal commission on Tuesday he went through 15 years of hell in the criminal justice system before the man who repeatedly sexually molested him when he was aged 14 was finally jailed.
Mr Lawrence recalled being abused in 1979 by Phil Doyle, who owned a cinema in Kogarah in Sydney.
He finally went to police in 1999 but the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions decided there wasn't enough evidence to proceed against Doyle.
Mr Lawrence was one of four witnesses who spoke of their anger and confusion on Tuesday as they recounted experiences they had when they went to court to give evidence against their abusers.
The royal commission is examining criminal justice issues and how they affect abuse cases.
In the case of Doyle, there was a split hearing across two trials and Mr Lawrence gave evidence in one trial where there were five complainants.
On Tuesday he spoke of his anger and depression during a long process of retrials and appeals before Doyle was jailed in 2014 for nine years.
He said 25-year mandatory sentences were appropriate because pedophiles imposed a life sentence on victims.
Another of Doyle's victim, Kevin Whitley, described in a statement read to the commission how he was confounded by the concurrent sentencing approach.
"Concurrent sentencing suggests the law views the rape of one victim or a dozen victims as the same," he said.
In his opening address, counsel advising the commission Jeremy Kirk SC, said fewer cases of child sexual abuse end in conviction than other criminal cases.
Also on Tuesday a man who was abused by Marist brother John Maguire at St Josephs's Catholic College in Sydney called for specialised court hearings for abuse cases.
He also said he was made to feel like the guilty one during Maguire's trial.
In 2003 eight former students of St Joseph's had come forward with complaints but a judge ruled the cases should be tried separately because of the possibility of witness collusion or contamination.
Eight years later Maguire was jailed when another abuse survivor came forward.
Mr Kirk said in the 2003/2004 cases there was no factual evidence of contamination and the decision was made because all the complainants attended school reunions and rugby matches.
The hearing before commission chair Justice Peter McClellan continues on Wednesday.
