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Warning: Graphic and distressing content

A 73-year-old former plumber has been handed a 15-year prison sentence in the County Court of Victoria over the horrific sexual abuse of seven children, including actor and former Neighbours star Madeleine West.

Peter Vincent White pleaded guilty to 33 child sexual abuse offences, including gross indecency, indecent assault and sexual penetration of a child, which occurred in a rural Victorian town and in Sunbury in Melbourne’s north-west between 1977 and 1988.

Actor Madeleine West demanded Peter White look her in the eyes as she read her victim impact statement in court.

Head bowed and wearing a necklace with a wooden crucifix, White remained silent as Judge Amanda Chambers ordered he must serve a minimum sentence of nine years before being eligible for parole.

Many of White’s victims and their families sat quietly in the courtroom as the sentence was handed down.

The father of two had been a popular figure in the regional Victorian town, and his home became a regular meeting place for children in the area. His victims were neighbours, children of friends, or friends of his own children.

Judge Amanda Chambers said White’s predatory behaviour towards young children was some of the worst she had encountered.Credit: Darrian Traynor

White regularly used games, toys and treats to groom seven girls and boys aged between four and 14, which Chambers described as “appalling, manipulative conduct”.

Some of his victims were humiliated and degraded after the sexual assaults. A six-year-old girl vomited after White forced her to perform oral sex, while he urinated on a young boy who was the son of a former friend.

West, a former Neighbours star, has given written consent to this masthead to be identified as a victim of sexual assault.

Now 44, she grew up near White’s property and was repeatedly abused over a five-year period that began when she was five.

At a plea hearing on December 5, West demanded that White look her in the eyes as she read out her victim impact statement in court.

“He wept, looked away. And time and again I demanded he meet my gaze, for the first time in his miserable life show a shred of integrity by looking at me and listen,” she recently posted on social media.

“I got to stand up for the little girl I ran from as far and as fast as I could, and I got to explain the true impact of his actions not just on that tiny little girl, but on the broken woman she would become, and on every person who crossed her path,” West posted to Instagram.

The court was told on Wednesday that West had agreed with detectives to wear a concealed listening device and record a conversation with White in June 2022.

He repeatedly apologised, but claimed not to remember his abuse.

“I am so sorry. I don’t remember doing anything like that. I am so sorry … It’s been washed from my mind,” White said during the covertly recorded conversation.

West declined to comment following the sentencing hearing after agreeing to an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes, which is owned by Nine Media, also the owner of this masthead.

Chambers said White’s predatory behaviour towards young children was some of the worst she had encountered.

“Offending of this kind strikes at the very heart of the morals of a decent and civilised society,” she said.

“You can be in no doubt that your offending had a profound impact on the lives of your victims.”

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

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