Victims of an octogenarian former Christian Brother who sexually abused 19 schoolboys almost 50 years ago have told a court they hope he spends the rest of his life in jail.
Several of the now 87-year-old teacher’s victims were in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his sentence hearing on Friday after he pleaded guilty to 19 sample counts of indecently assaulting 19 boys when he was a teacher in a Co Kilkenny school in the 1970s.
The Co Waterford man, who can’t be named to protect the anonymity of his victims, abused his students on dates between 1974 and 1978.
The man is serving a sentence of three years and two months after he was found guilty by a jury of 30 counts of indecently assaulting a further five boys at the same school on dates between 1975 and 1976 following a trial in May this year.
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He had been due to face two further trials in relation to the remaining 19 complainants but instead entered guilty pleas in July.
In victim impact statements read out in court on Friday 10 of the man’s 19 victims outlined the impact of the abuse, which continues to affect them to this day. Many described how they have struggled with anxiety and have difficulty trusting others and maintaining relationships. Some struggled with alcohol. Many of them kept the abuse a secret for years.
Patrick McGrath SC, prosecuting, told the court that an initial Garda investigation into the abuse started in 1998 after a number of complainants came forward, but no prosecution occurred. A second “extensive” investigation in recent years involving multiple complainants resulted in the former teacher being charged with the offences.
As well as the Co Kilkenny school, he worked in a number of schools around the country. He left the Christian Brothers in the 1990s.
The court heard the man regularly called his victims up to the top of the class, where he indecently assaulted them by touching them inappropriately. He kept boys back in class at lunchtime or after school under the guise of helping them with their schoolwork before abusing them.
His victims, now men in their late 50s and early 60s, described how they were powerless as children and terrified of the man, who was also physically violent.
One complainant, who read out his victim impact statement in court, said the fact the man was in a religious order “added salt to the wound”.
‘We were powerless’
“You feared you would not be believed, and worse, be in trouble for making up stories about a holy man,” he told the court. “He was protected not just by his profession, but by the habit he wore. We were powerless.”
The complainant said “everyone knew what had gone on” and in later years the man was remembered as “dirty”, but no one wanted to admit they had been a victim.
He said the fact the man was finally being brought to justice was a relief and a weight off his shoulders. “Forty-seven years was too long to wait,” he said.
A second complainant who read out his statement in court said the man had “cast a dark shadow” over his life. “He ruined my life and my self-esteem and I hope he spends the rest of his life in jail,” he said.
A further eight victim-impact statements were read out in court by prosecuting counsel. Some described how they never told anyone except their partner. Others never told anyone at all until they received a phone call from investigating gardaí.
The man was described by the complainants as “huge” and “scary”. The court heard he threatened to kill one boy if he told anyone about the abuse, threw another boy against a door when he tried to escape and told a third he would have his relatives who also worked in the school sacked if he came forward about the abuse.
A number of the man’s victims described how he ruined their education, with a number dropping out of school early and others describing how they never reached their full potential. They reported feelings of anxiety, flashbacks and nightmares. One complainant said he suffered severe mental health problems following the abuse, including PTSD.
One man described how he could never tell his parents because they were “good Catholics”. Another said he told his mother what had happened to him years later and believed she died “broken-hearted” as a result.
Another complainant said the teacher “sexually, physically and mentally assaulted me”.
“You’re a monster and I hope you rot in prison,” he said in his statement.
In her plea of mitigation, Kathleen Leader SC, defending, said the man has a number of serious health issues, including prostate cancer and secondary bone cancer. He is undergoing chemotherapy for these cancers, which are not curable, the court heard. He has heart disease and arthritis.
The court heard the man entered the Christian Brothers when he was 16 years old. He was described by his neighbours as kind and considerate in testimonials handed into court. Ms Leader said the man had no previous convictions until he was found guilty of the other indecent assaults earlier this year.
“I would ask the court not to impose a lengthy sentence that my client will have no hope of ever being released from, due to his advanced years,” said defence counsel.
Judge Elma Sheahan adjourned the matter for sentencing on October 16th.