Society must be protected from those who prey on, manipulate and abuse children, Assistant Supreme Court Justice Carlisle Greaves said yesterday as he sentenced a former Policeman, who sexually abused young boys, to 25 years behind bars.

The sentence was just five years shy of the maximum allowable for the offences committed by former P.c. John Malcolm White ? and it exceeded the recommended sentence from the Crown prosecutor of 15 to 20 years.

White?s defence lawyer said yesterday, the ex-cop has already received threats about the violence he may face from other prisoners once he arrives at Westgate.

White was found guilty of ten counts of sexual assault by a unanimous jury verdict on October 4.

The charges included buggery, attempted buggery and sexual exploitation relating to three victims who were between the ages of nine and eleven at the time of the attacks. Although the sentences for each charge ranged between ten and 20 years and add to a total of 162 years, White will serve a total of 25 years as the sentences are to run concurrently.

Yesterday, Mr. Greaves told White he must be separated from the community for a substantial period of time in order to realise the life-long pain he had caused his victims.

He said the severity of the crime was enhanced by the fact that White, as an officer with the Bermuda Police Service, abused his position of trust to lure the boys to his home.

?You have betrayed the nation,? said Mr. Greaves. ?These boys are not my sons but I feel their pain and I believe many will.?

He continued: ?These young men should have been happy. They were trusting of a man who held himself to be a trustworthy person who was in a position of trust and authority.?

The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court during White?s trial, that he had them undress and lie on their stomachs with their backsides exposed. He rubbed lotion on their rear ends and proceeded to assault them. The victims are now 14, 18 and 19 years of age.

Mr. Greaves said the youth of Bermuda should be be valued and protected through the court system.

?They must know that the system works to protect them from those out there who have the propensity to behave in this manner as you behaved,? he said. ?They must be persuaded by this sentence, that the court will stand by the young ones of this country and put offenders away for a long time.?

One of the victims, who was ten at the time, was sodomised at White?s Smith?s Parish home over the Christmas holiday in 2001. Another, also assaulted at White?s home, told the court he had been ?robbed of his innocence?.

Mr. Greaves highlighted these facts yesterday before delivering his sentence, telling White, who stood emotionless before him in the witness box, that he had to be put away long enough to feel his victims? agony.

In the Victim Impact Statements read to the court, both the boys and their parents said their lives were forever altered by the abuse.

One victim said not a single day goes by that he does not think about the abuse.

Another said he now has a phobia of men with ginger-coloured hair as it ?re-kindles thoughts of painful memories?.

Another victim said he lived in fear that his peers would find out about the abuse and often experienced sad and depressing thoughts during his school day.

Meanwhile, the boys? parents said they struggle with depression, sleepless nights, feelings of guilt and high blood pressure.

White has not apologised for his actions, another fact Mr. Greaves said he considered before setting his sentence.

Mr. Greaves told White that he had put the young men through the additional pain of a trial in maintaining his innocence with a not guilty plea, right up until his sentencing.

Mr. Greaves said one of the boys, who spoke at the trial about the fear of telling his mother about the abuse because he was afraid of what her reaction would be, said he would be struggling to deal with his painful memories throughout his life.

?This was a boy who was left to be questioned by his peers and by society as to whether or not he was telling the truth by your position of innocence,? Mr. Greaves said.

?He must know, by this sentence, that someone believed in him. You forced them to relive their worst nightmares and for this you should pay the maximum penalty allowed by law.?

White, who was officially terminated from the BPS after the verdict was delivered last month, told Mr. Greaves had nothing to say before the sentencing.

Prosecutor Juan Wolffe had asked Mr. Greaves for a 15-20 year sentence, with an immediate custodial sentence, due to White?s ?filthy and reprehensible actions? in carrying out a campaign of sexual terror against his victims.

?The tide of filth he perpetrated should attract a lengthy sentence,? said Mr. Wolffe.

In the Social Inquiry Report, portions of which Mr. Wolffe read to the court, White expressed bewilderment at the unanimous jury verdict ? an issue which Mr. Wolffe said indicated a high risk of his re-offending.

But Queen?s Counsel John Perry, who defended White with co-counsel Leo Mills, said prior to sentencing that if White had played the ?remorse card? it would have be seen as an attempt to influence the sentence.

He said White must be sentenced on the charges as they were drafted and on the fact he had no previous convictions.

Mr. Perry also asked the court to consider his client?s welfare, noting that as an ex-Police officer he is likely to serve his sentence in isolation without the comradeship of other prisoners. There is also a risk of harm from other prisoners and threats had been made against White already, he said.

?When he is released he will be carrying the stigma of the conviction for the rest of his life in this jurisdiction, his life from now on will not be a happy one,? said Mr. Perry.

Outside the courtroom yesterday afternoon, however, the concern was not for the defendant but for the young victims of his actions.

One victim?s mother told that she felt the sentence could have been longer, however, she said the rights of her son were taken into consideration by the court.

?I think that justice was served. He should have got 31 years, when you think about the pain and issues these boys are dealing with,? she said.

If the case is appealed, she said she would do whatever it would take to keep White behind bars. ?These children should be honoured,? she said. ?He came across the wrong three who stood up to him. At some point, it had to stop.?

Mr. Wolffe said he was satisfied with the sentence.

?It was just,? he said. ?I couldn?t agree with him (Justice Greaves) more. If we look at how the evidence unfolded throughout the trial, and the devastating effect it had on the young boys, it was a proper and just decision to make.

?For far too long society, as a whole, have not really appreciated the rights of women and children as a whole. Hopefully, this will send a clear message to offenders that their actions will not be tolerated. We will take them very seriously and the victims can be assured the courts will mete out justice.?