A judge has described the actions of a Marist brother who sexually assaulted students in his care as “abhorrent” as he sentenced him to 9 months behind bars.

Gerard McNamara, 80, pleaded guilty to seven charges of indecent assault while Principal at St Pauls in Traralgon in the 1970s.

The court heard the offending occurred while McNamara was giving the students “sports massages.”

One victim said he felt relieved McNamara was now behind bars.

“The church, I suppose, protected them,” he said.