Pedophile who abused former Greens leader Bob Brown dies in jail

The pedophile who abused former Greens leader Bob Brown as a child has died in jail less than a month after he was found guilty of abusing another boy.

Ian Douglas Davidson, 84, collapsed while getting on a truck to Long Bay prison hospital on Friday and died yesterday, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

He abused Mr Brown when he was year six student at Armidale, NSW, in the late 1950s.

Davidson was later charged and convicted of six counts of indecent assault for offences committed against Mr Brown.

The former Senator for Tasmania said "the whole saga is unutterably sad".

When Davidson died he was serving a seven-year sentence for abusing an 11-year-old Sydney Grammar student in the 1960s.

Last month he received the maximum sentence for eight counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery against his victim but would have been eligible for parole in three years.

Davidson got away with his crimes for almost 50 years until was finally arrested at a Surry Hills nursing home.

He initially denied knowing his victim but this was quickly disproved by the fact he had signed the student's report cards.

The judge who sentenced Davidson said his crimes had left his struggling with "anger, fear, loss of trust, self loathing", poor relationships with family, self harm and a dependency on alcohol and drugs.