A former church youth group leader who has served jail time for sex crimes against three young boys now faces dying behind bars, after he admitted to violating two more victims.
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Cyril Trezise, who is in his 80s, fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday.
He has pleaded guilty to two counts of repeatedly indecently assaulting one young boy during the 1970s and 80s, and one count of indecently assaulting another young boy about the same time.
The court heard Trezise made admissions about his crimes to police, telling officers after one of the victims came forward: "I'm admitting, yes, it happened ... I did that to him and I'm ashamed of it."
An agreed statement of facts detailed his offences.
At Pine Island in the mid-70s, Trezise sat beside his then seven-year-old victim on the grass, pulled the boy's underpants down and exposed him. Trezise fondled the child and went on to perform oral sex on him; an act he repeated on the boy over a number of years.
Trezise also thrust his penis between the boy's legs. The facts said the boy was scared, didn't know what was happening, and tried "wriggling away" to fight the assault.
On another occasion, Trezise sat behind another boy at the top of a rock slide in the Cotter area. He rubbed the boy's penis through his shorts - he was aged between 8 and 12 - and exposed himself.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston said Trezise did much the same to another boy in the 70s.
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He was convicted of that indecent assault and others by ACT Supreme Court Justice David Mossop in 2018, and sentenced to three-and-a-half years' prison, to be suspended after six months.
Barrister Jack Pappas on Thursday said his client was in ill health and was only expected to live for a few more years. He said while Trezise could "never claim to be a man of good character", he could point to the last 40 years in which he hadn't reoffended.
While the prosecution said Trezise showed a level of remorse, Mr Pappas said he made frank admissions to police.
"It's hard to really imagine what more could be done other than Mr Trezise self-reporting to police," he said.
"Beyond that, none of us can change the past.
"He could, in the remaining few years of his life, be expected to abide by the law ... and live a blameless existence."
Prosecutor Rebecca Christensen said Trezise's crimes could only warrant a period of full-time imprisonment. Each of the offences he committed carried a penalty of up to five years' jail.
She said Trezise's offending involved serious "bodily violations", and judges regularly sentenced elderly criminals who were in ill health to jail.
Mr Theakston will sentence Trezise next Wednesday.