Victims of a former Dilworth chaplain have described him as a monster disguised as a Santa Claus-like mentor

Ross Douglas Browne was sentenced to six and a half years in prison this morning, after sexually abusing students at the Auckland school between 1987 and 2002.

The 73-year-old had earlier pleaded guilty to 16 charges....with most victims aged 12 to 16.

At the High Court in Auckland more than a dozen people appeared describing him as a disgusting human and say his offending turned their lives upside down.

Browne became chaplain at Dilworth in 1979 and was a vicar at a Manurewa church when he was arrested.

He had also been involved in Scouts and amateur theatre.