Former Terenure College teacher and rugby coach John McClean will remain in prison until 2030 for the sexual crimes he committed against boys at the school after being jailed on Friday for an additional four years.
He was sentenced after pleading guilty to sexually abusing 22 boys at the south Dublin school on dates between 1971 and 1992.
He is regarded as one of the most prolific sex offenders to come before the courts in the history of the State, with more than 40 victims that gardaí are aware of. However, Garda sources said it was clear many other victims had yet to come forward.
McClean, of Casimir Avenue, Harold’s Cross, Dublin, was already serving an 11-year sentence, with the final three years suspended, imposed in 2021 for abusing 23 pupils at the school. He was sentenced on Friday for the second batch of offences, involving different victims.
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In January, McClean affirmed guilty pleas to four counts of indecent assault relating to two boys during the 1980s. This week he pleaded guilty to a further 23 counts of abusing 20 boys at the college between 1971 and 1992.
Most of the charges are of indecent assault, while two are of sexual assault, which were carried out against a student in the 1990s. He has 96 previous convictions, all for indecent assault of young boys under the age of 18 years who attended Terenure College.
Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Martin Nolan said what McClean did should have been stopped but was not. He also extended his sympathies to the victims.
A number of pupils whom McClean abused at Terenure College were present in court for the evidence on Thursday and sentencing on Friday. Some joined the proceedings via video link from overseas, while others who attended in person were meeting each other for the first time at the hearing in the Criminal Courts of Justice.
“This court has to deal with the abuse of boys under the accused’s care over a protracted period of time,” Judge Nolan of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court said during Friday’s hearing. “There are 22 complainants in the case, with some of them having been abused on a single occasion and others were abused three, four, six, seven and up to eight times.
“Over a period of time he abused these boys, he was a teacher and in a position of trust. He used that position to gratify his own needs. He had these boys in his power, and his behaviour had a long-term effect on the boys and third parties. And it seems from the evidence that I have heard that no one took any steps to stop the abuse. He was determined and persistent and abused over a long period of time.”
He noted McClean’s current term of imprisonment was set to expire in February 2027. The question now arose as to how much longer McClean should remain in prison at the expiry of the first sentence, he said. Judge Nolan believed that was four years and refused to suspend any of it.
He added in passing sentence he had to take mitigating factors into account. In this case this included McClean’s guilty plea, his remorse and his age. He added McClean’s time in prison, it was hoped, may bring about a change in him and he would not be a danger to anyone on release.
However, Judge Nolan added the sentence he was imposing would have been longer but for the fact McClean was already serving another term of imprisonment. He noted the combination of the 2021 sentence and the term imposed on Friday was 12 years.
The court heard two books of evidence were served, with 22 victims in total. Any offences committed before 1990 are referred to as indecent assault. In 1991, a new Act was introduced that changed the charge of indecent assault to sexual assault. The sentencing term available to judges also increased.
There was a total of 53 counts within both books of evidence. The sentencing terms were outlined to the court. Counts one to 15 carried a maximum of a five-year prison sentence. Counts 16 to 41 carried a maximum of a 10-year sentence, and counts 42 to 49 a maximum five-year prison sentence with the remaining four counts punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
