"Rot in hell, Smyth." With these words ringing in his ears, Brendan Smyth left the courtroom to begin a 12-year prison term which he may not live long enough to serve.

The 70-year-old thrice-convicted paedophile stumbled as he made his way from the dock down a flight of stairs to the basement of the courthouse before being driven away.

Only a handful of Smyth's 20 victims and their relatives turned up for what was his final day of judgment. They heard Smyth described by Judge Cyril Kelly as a continuous danger to society, his case one of the most serious before any court in the land for many years.

Their abuser was described as a deep-rooted paedophile who, as recently as April 1995, had shown that his sexual appetite for children was as voracious as ever. That happened while Smyth was being transported from Magilligan prison for police interviews. On each occasion, while travelling through Coleraine, Smyth had seen a schoolgirl and become sexually excited.

With his heavy-jowelled face and pot belly, Smyth looked deceptively like a benign grandfather. As Judge Kelly read out his judgment, he looked straight at him from below heavy eyelids. Occasionally, he tilted his head slightly as if straining to hear, and appeared to frown. His expression suggested irritation and at times he impatiently tapped his knee with his fingers.

When Judge Kelly came to the sentence, he asked Smyth to stand up. Smyth awkwardly stumbled to his feet and placed one hand on the wooden rail to steady himself.

The victims braced themselves. Many put their hands to their mouths while Judge Kelly reeled off the list of prison terms of between two and eight years for each of the 74 counts. They amounted to a total of 273 years. As the terms are concurrent, the overall sentence amounts to 12 years.

Some of the victims began to sob with relief. When the court rose, the victim who had shouted "rot in hell" at Smyth said he was "delighted" with the sentence. As Smyth's van pulled away from the court building, a young boy, about the same age as those Smyth used to prey on, shouted "scumbag".