The victim of an Adelaide tutor, who’s been jailed for sexually abusing two brothers almost 40 years ago, has broken his silence.
“When that verdict was handed down today, an eight-year-old boy was there, a scared eight-year-old boy was there," Greg Trembath said, who agreed to be identified.
His abuser Stephen John Hamra was found guilty of persistent sexual exploitation of a child and maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child between 1977 and 1982.
The 63-year-old spent decades working as a teacher in local schools before he was forced to stand down when the allegations came to light.
Mr Trembath said he would have liked the sentence to be “larger”.
“I’m not going to lie about that. I carry a sentence every day of my life,” he said.
District Court judge Paul Rice on Thursday jailed Hamra for 12 years with a non-parole period of nine years, seven months.
Mr Trembath, the victim, has vowed to continue fighting to keep Hamra behind bars.
“When it comes to parole, I will be there to argue that he should stay in,” he said.
In sentencing, Judge Rice said the family asked Hamra, a primary school teacher at the time, to tutor their son with some of his school work.
He went on to abuse Greg and his brother over the course of the following five years.
"The family trusted you and you preyed upon two of the boys," Judge Rice said.
"This was a gross breach of the trust the family placed in you.
"They welcomed you into the family and you repaid their friendship by abusing two of their sons."
Hamra, who has been in custody since early 2017, will be eligible for parole in 2026.
Separate abuse complaint
Hamra was a teacher at Adelaide’s Saint Ignatius College from 1979 until 2006.
In 1995 a separate abuse complaint raised by a student was reported to the school’s then headmaster and then to the temporary replacement for Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson - Bishop Greg O’Kelly.
Hamra denied the abuse and the matter was settled outside court. He remained in the Catholic school system, becoming a counsellor at Adelaide’s Christian Brothers College.
Michael - the Saint Ignatius College student who accused Hamra – said in a statement on Thursday he was pleased to see Hamra jailed for his crimes.
“But this is not the end for his victims. They will still have to live with his actions for the rest of their lives,” he said.
“I hope he now realises the damage he has done."
Bishop O'Kelly declined to comment on Thursday.
