A former teacher has been jailed for the abuse of two students at a prestigious northern NSW boarding school in the 1960s.
Former TAS teacher Leonard Albert Gardiner, now 87, will remain in prison until at least October 2030, with Judge Leonie Flannery sentencing Gardiner to 13-and-a-half years in prison, with a non-parole period of eight-and-a-half years, in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court this week.
On May 6 this year, following a retrial, a jury found Gardiner guilty of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child aged under 16 and committing an act of buggery, Gardiner pleading not guilty and has maintained his innocence.
Crown prosecutor Peter Lowe said in court Gardiner abused his position of power over his “vulnerable” victims in sexual acts that took place mostly in Gardiner’s lodgings, as well as the student dormitory.
The charge related to two acts of indecent assault and two acts of buggery upon one of the boys occurred between 1964 and 1966.
