A former Christian Brother, Liam Coughlan, has been jailed for four and a half years after pleading guilty to sexually abusing 19 schoolboys almost 50 years ago.
The 87 years-old who was described in court as 'big and scary' intimidated boys when he was a teacher in a school in the south east of the country on dates between 1974 and 1978.
Coughlan, of Pine Grove, Tramore, Co Waterford, is currently serving a sentence of three years and two months.
He was found guilty by a jury of 30 counts of indecently assaulting a five boys at the same school in the 1970s following a trial in May this year.
According to thejournal.ie, the former Christian brother had been due to face two further trials in relation to the remaining 19 complainants, but instead entered guilty pleas in July.
Coughlan left the Christian Brothers in the 1990s and got married, the court heard.
Sentencing Coughlan today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Elma Sheahan said the abuse perpetrated by Coughlan not only “instilled fear and embarrassment in the lives and minds of young boys attending school, but has served to torment the men these young boys have become”.
Judge Sheahan said she wished to acknowledge the time it has taken for the abuse to come to light and she paid tribute to the “determination” of the complainants.
The court heard three of the complainants came forward in 1998, but their allegations did not result in a prosecution.
She handed down a sentence of four and a half years for the offences, noting the maximum sentence for each offence of indecent assault during that time period is two years. She ordered that the sentence start today, meaning it will run concurrent to the sentence he is currently serving.
The judge acknowledged that were it not for Coughlan’s serious health issues, she would have reconsidered when the sentence date should start.
Earlier this month, 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.
The victims, now men in their late 50s and early 60s, described how they were powerless as children and terrified of Coughlan. He was described as physically violent.
The court also heard that he threatened to kill one boy if he told anyone about the abuse.
He threw another boy against a door when he tried to escape and told a third boy he would have his relatives who also worked in the school sacked if he came forward about the abuse.
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