The man, now in his late 50s and granted interim name suppression by the court, sat unresponsive in a dark suit and face mask throughout the hearing.
Court documents show the then-10-year-old victim's grandmother lived next door to the man. The girl was visiting her nana when he brushed her breasts while giving her a hug.
On another visit weeks later, she was told to go to the man's house to say goodbye when they were leaving. She didn't want to, but did it out of respect for her elders.
He was lying on the couch eating, and when she went over to greet him and give him a quick hug, he kissed her and forced his tongue into her mouth.
She dealt with the trauma alone and in silence for decades, she said, holding back tears as she read out her victim impact statement in court.
"I used to think of my cousins, his children. I thought if I told my truth, it would break their hearts," she said.
"If I told my truth, my mum would lose her sister. I would be the reason my family is hurt and torn apart."
Another victim, related to one of his family members, was 16 when the man entered her room and grabbed her breasts while she slept.
He continued the assault despite her protests, and went on to touch her breasts and suck her nipple.
She also worked for him part-time at the business he owned. For about four years, on an almost daily basis, he would pay her cash by putting the money down her bra, taking the opportunity to fondle her breasts.
As recently as 2020, he again put his hand down her top when they were alone in a car. He didn't stop when she told him to, and went on to touch her leg and upper thighs.
"We had so much trust in him and he has betrayed us all," said another woman, who was pregnant when he touched her stomach before moving his hands up to her breasts.
Common threads ran through the women's victim impact statements - they feared being alone with men, especially male pastors.
They left the church and isolated themselves from the people they loved.
"Twenty-one years ago I confronted you and you denied it," said one woman, her voice trembling. "Twenty years ago I reported it to the church and nothing was done."
They spoke of the far-reaching impacts the offending was having on their own children.
"My son usually stays at home when I go to family events. He's not allowed to go to church," one victim said.
She worries whenever her children, nieces or nephews are out of earshot or eyesight.
"I worry a paedophile might groom them. It's exhausting being this fearful," she said.
The man pleaded guilty earlier this year and was convicted on eight charges of indecent assault against females under 12 and between 12 and 16.
Four of the charges were representative, meaning the offences occurred more than once.
Most of them involved touching the young victims' breasts between 2001 and 2020, but also included touching legs and kissing.
"Some may think well, all he did was brush his hands over breasts, over clothing. Why should we care?" Judge John McDonald said.
"Well, we do. Courts do and society does. It's not only what you did, but who you were. A man they all looked up to," he said.
The man's lawyer, Paul Borich QC, said his client has made significant contributions to his Pacific Island community that should not be dismissed despite his offending.
He also offered to pay $35,000 in reparations to be split among the victims.
The man was sorry and wanted to apologise to his victims personally, but they refused to meet with him, Borich said. "He is truly and deeply remorseful."
The victims said they did not believe his remorse was genuine, and the judge agreed, saying his acts and words of remorse were done and said to avoid jail.
"You were given chances to come clean. Victims told your family and your wife what you'd been doing. You denied it. They were not believed," Judge McDonald said.
"That was the time for remorse."
He sentenced the man to two years and three months in jail, which comes with registration as a child sex offender.
The victims' statements all pointed to the pressure they faced to say nothing, Judge McDonald said.
"If that had happened, you would go to your grave as an upstanding member of the [Pacific Island] community, as a pastor ... but only your god knew what you were really like," he said.
"A predator of young women."
A hearing to determine the man's continued name suppression is yet to be scheduled.
