Writer Desmond Hogan (57) has been given an opportunity by a judge to undergo assessment to establish whether he is suitable to participate in a sex offenders' treatment programme.
Hogan, with an address at Back Lane, East End, Ballybunion, Co Kerry was remanded to appear at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court after he pleaded guilty last July to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at his house in Ballybunion on November 11th, 2006.
Last November, Judge Carroll Moran adjourned the matter to see whether Hogan was deemed suitable for participation in a programme run by the Granada Institute in Dublin which provides counselling and treatment for sex offenders.
Barrister for Hogan, Mark Nicholas BL told the court that there was a six-month waiting list for assessment but that Hogan had received an appointment for assessment on March 25th where experts would decide whether he was suitable to participate in the programme.
Prosecution barrister, John O’Sullivan BL said the State had no objection to an adjournment to allow Hogan be assessed and Judge Moran remanded the accused on continuing bail to appear again at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on May 27th.
At an earlier hearing, Sgt Michael McCarthy said the injured party was one of three boys who visited Hogan at his home where the writer showed them sketches and photographs of naked people and the assault took place when the victim’s friends left to go to a local shop.
Sgt McCarthy said that Hogan removed all the boy’s clothes and then his own clothes and proceeded to kiss the boy in the kitchen before bringing him to a bedroom where he placed the boy on the bed faced down and sexually abused him.
Hogan’s probation officer, Nora Brassil told an earlier hearing that Hogan had made it clear to her that he saw the incident with the young boy as “a mutual sexual incident/relationship” and she expressed concern he might re-offend if he did not see what he had done was wrong.
