A former Christian brother who sexually abused five boys in Ballarat in the 1970s has been jailed for the first time after pleading guilty to more charges.

Stephen Farrell, 66, was sentenced to 18 months jail, with 14 months suspended, for sexually abusing two students when he was a teacher at the notorious St Alipius Primary School.

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He has never previously been jailed for his crimes, despite this current case bringing his confirmed number of victims to five.

In 1997 he was given a two-year suspended sentence after being convicted of nine counts of indecent assault and a three-month suspended sentence in 2013 for another count of indecent assault.

The sentence handed down in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court means he will now spend four months in prison.

Farrell was 'running amok'

Outside the court, Philip Nagle, who was one of the victims involved in the 1997 case, said it was a relief to see Farrell finally imprisoned.

"[I'm] very, very satisfied … and to see him being led away and put in the dock like the evil predator he is, was just great," he said.

"Farrell was absolutely running amok, he had a cubby house at the back of the classroom, so he could take kids down during class so he could sexually abuse and assault them.

"They were scary times, in a class of 33 … a lot of them committed suicide … they can't come here and testify and hold this guy accountable, that's part of the reason I'm here."

Philip Nagle attended court on behalf of victims of sexual abuse at the school who had since taken their own lives. ( ABC News )

The court previously heard Farrell had not reoffended in the 40 years since leaving the Christian brotherhood and was "completely rehabilitated".

Magistrate Belinda Wallington said that although it seemed Farrell had been able to put the offending behind him and have a "successful life", it had had a devastating and sustained impact on his victims.

She described their descriptions of the betrayal of their trust and its long-term effect as "heart-wrenching".

Mr Nagle said "the excuse" that the convicted paedophile had been good for 40 years had never "fit well" with him.

"The guy's got five victims and 15 convictions and he's going to do four months in jail," he said.

"We were little kids, nine or ten years of age, and they were very, very serious sex offences that he committed against us."

Magistrate Wallington said the maximum penalty at the time of Farrell's offending, which was five years jail for indecent assault, was relatively low.

"What we now know is the devastating impact of child sexual abuse," she said.

School was a 'nest of paedophiles'

Former Brother Edward Dowlan, who later changed his name to Ted Bales, and the school's principal Brother Robert Best are serving prison time for crimes committed against school children, as is the school's former chaplain, the notorious Gerald Ridsdale.

In 2013, it was noted at the Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into the handling of institutional child abuse that it appeared "the only person who was working at the school at that time who did not offend against children was the sole female lay teacher".

"The place was just a nest of paedophiles and I'm sure all the hierarchy back then were aware of that," Mr Nagle said.

"They put them all there in one place — you can imagine on any given day how many children have been sexually assaulted at that school.

"Farrell sort of flew under the radar because they were such prolific paedophiles."

Mr Nagle said he was aware of other victims of Farrell's who had not yet come forward but may now feel confident to do so.

"I do think it's a positive part of it, that other victims know that the justice system is actually going to put these guys in jail and make sure they pay for the crimes they committed, no matter how long ago."