Ex-Vic Christian Brother admits to abuse December 3, 2013 - 12:53PM A former Victorian Christian Brother has confessed to sexually assaulting his third schoolboy victim in an offence that dates back almost 40 years. Stephen Francis Farrell, 62, pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a 10-year-old boy while he was teaching at St Alipius School in Ballarat in the 1970s. It is the third victim Farrell has admitted assaulting, following a 1997 conviction on nine charges of indecently assaulting two brothers at St Alipius in 1973 and 1974. On that occasion Farrell avoided jail, with a two year prison sentence suspended for two years. The Ballarat Magistrates Court on Tuesday heard Farrell ordered the boy to go to the sick bay and remove his pants after spilling paint on himself in an art class. Farrell followed the boy into the room and fondled his genitals as his victim wept. The court heard the boy's mother approached the school the following day after the boy reported the abuse. Farrell left the Christian Brothers in late 1974, but the crime was not brought to police until 2012. Farrell's plea hearing continues.