Ex-priest 'preyed on vulnerable' Vic kids

A former Catholic priest who sexually abused boys at a Victorian school attacked his victims when he knew they were vulnerable, a court has been told.

James Patrick Jennings, 81, was in February found guilty of indecently assaulting three boys at Bendigo's St Vincent's College in the 1960s.

Prosecutor Susan Borg said Jennings had preyed upon boarding students, and looked at their class timetables to see when they would be alone.

"It's an attack on one of the most vulnerable categories of victims - children," she told the Victorian County Court on Tuesday.

Defence barrister Mark Hird said Jennings had been of exemplary behaviour since the offending, doing years of charity work and raising a family after leaving the priesthood.

He asked Judge Wendy Wilmoth to wholly suspend any prison sentence imposed on Jennings.

However, Ms Borg called for an immediate term of imprisonment, saying Jennings had shown no remorse for his offending.

Jennings, who lives in the Huon Valley in Tasmania, will be sentenced on Wednesday.