The former Catholic priest accused of involvement in an alleged child sex ring at a New South Wales school last night left Hurstville police station on bail with 60 new charges laid against him, involving eight more of his former pupils.

Brian Spillane, 65, a former chaplain and teacher, was arrested in May and charged with sexually assaulting five students. These latest young men came forward after the intial charges were made against Mr Spillane.

Since May, Bathurst's St Stanislaus College has been the focus of a police investigation by Strike Force Heador into claims of sexual abuse by Mr Spillane and two other former staff members that occured over 20 years ago. It is alleged the abuse happened during late-night charismatic prayer sessions which involved chanting.

Mr Spillane, now married, joined the school, which is run by the Vincentians Fathers order and has both boarding and day students, in the 1970s. After leaving for a time he returned in the mid-1980s, when he was school chaplain for a number of years. He then left the school again in the early 1990s.

Last month, Mr Spillane appeared at Bathurst Local Court on 33 charges relating to sexual assault and acts of gross indecency on five former students then aged between 10 and 18. The court heard at the time that nothing of a criminal nature was known about the former priest.

Mr Spillane's lawyer, Greg Walsh, has said the former priest "emphatically" denied the claims.

Police have also spoken to a former St Stanislaus teacher, Stephen Joseph Wade, who served 15 months in jail for a sex attack on a then Year 7 student in 1986.

Mr Spillane is due to face Bathurst Local Court again on September 15.

Tags: catholic priest, high school, sex abuse