A “paedophile predator” scout leader who sexually abused three teenage boys almost 30 years ago has been jailed for six years.
The 61-year-old man, who can't be named to protect the anonymity of the victims, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault on dates between 1991 and 2000 at the scouting den in Dublin and at a location in Waterford.
The three victims were aged between 11 and 14 at the time.
They were each members of a scouting troop, which the man was involved with as a “well-respected” leader.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the abuse included inappropriate touching, masturbation and oral sex.
Two of the victims were told by the man that a girl liked them and they were made to cover their heads before he abused them under the guise of the so-called girl.
Imposing sentence today, Judge Martin Nolan said the man's behaviour was “very serious” and “very reprehensible”.
He said the defendant had abused his position of “trust and authority” over the young boys who were “impressionable” and “vulnerable”.
The judge noted that the man abused the trust of the boys, their families and the wider community.
He imposed three-year sentences in relation to each count but directed that two of these sentences should run consecutively, meaning the man was handed a global sentence of six years.
The victims and their families were present in court and there was some applause after Judge Nolan finished his remarks.
He said while the court understood their emotions at the moment, the applause was not appropriate as the courtroom was a “place of objective justice”.
Three victim impact statements were prepared, with two read aloud in court.
Prosecuting counsel Fionnuala O'Sullivan BL read one of these statements. He outlined how the scout leader's actions “sculpted how he deals with people” and has “destroyed” his trust.
He said the man “took his innocence” and turned it against him. He said he buried everything to do with the abuse, and while he found the judicial process hard, it has provided some relief.
He said the man “destroyed” his past and what he could have been. “What he did affected by my whole life...[he] robbed us of our potential”.
The third victim read his victim impact statement to the court. He said his family was involved in scouting and had “full trust” in the organisation and in the man who was a “well-respected, trusted member of the community”.
He said he came to the attention of the “paedophile predator” at a time when he was vulnerable as his mother was seriously ill and later passed away. He said he has blocked out memories from this period due to the abuse.
He said he has struggled with his mental health, anxiety, depression and alcohol. He said he also had “feelings of guilt” as the man had “access to other children”, though he is “relieved” this is no longer the case.
He said he started to understand through counselling what happened to him, but he had to “relive the traumatic experiences” during the investigation and legal process.
He said he doesn't know if he will allow his children to join the scouts as he and his partner are “too scared” to trust their children's safety to any person or organisation.
Shane Costelloe SC, defending, told the court his client wished to express his remorse and apologise to the victims. He said the man is deeply ashamed of his actions.
A psychological report was handed to the court.
Mr Costelloe said his client had issues with alcohol but has been abstinent since the 2000s. He has a long work history and was a carer for his mother, who passed away in recent days.
Defence counsel told the man was himself sexually abused by two priests and is aware that he has perpetuated the trauma of what was done to him as he “knows exactly what he did to these men”.
He asked the court to take into consideration his client's “otherwise unblemished life” and that he is assessed as at low risk of re-offending.
Judge Nolan said the victim impact statements were “compelling” and outlined how the victims had suffered “by reason of the actions and abuse” by the defendant.
He said he took into account the mitigating features including the guilty plea, the man's work history and his lack of relevant convictions.
Judge Nolan said there is also a “small degree” of mitigation as the man was himself the victim of sexual abuse, adding “This gives him no excuse at all in relation to his own behaviour”.
Further information
The court heard the first victim was 12 when the abuse occurred on two occasions in 1991 while he was staying with the accused at the scout den.
This victim told Gardai that he saw the man as a father figure.
The accused asked the boy if he wanted to play a game, then told him an older girl liked him and wanted to play with his private parts.
The boy was told the girl didn't want him to know who she was and that he had to put a sleeping bag over his head.
The boy was uncomfortable, but the defendant reassured him and he agreed to do it.
The victim lay down with the sleeping bag over his head, then heard the sound of high heels on the ground and panicked.
The man came and reassured him again.
The boy heard the sound of high heels and someone masturbated him.
The man came in afterwards and praised him.
This also took place the following night and the man told the boy that the girl wanted to look at him naked through a keyhole.
The boy did this, remaining in a lit room with the door closed until he heard the man say he could get dressed.
The second complainant was sexually abused by the man in 1993 when he was 14 years old.
The court heard the boy went on a scouting trip to the United Kingdom, during which the man took some of the boys to a pub near the campsite.
The man told the teenager that a girl from the village liked him, but was shy. He told the victim to go into a tent, take his pants off and put a sleeping bag over his head.
The man then performed oral sex on the teenager, who believed it was a local girl. This occurred around three or four times.
The victim became suspicious after the trip when the man told him the girl had come to visit him.
The abuse was repeated at the scout den around four or five times.
At this stage, the teenager had begun to understand that there was no girl and it was the man who had been performing oral sex.
The third victim was aged between 11 and 14 and the abuse occurred between 1997 and 2000, while on trips.
The court heard that the victim had consumed alcohol on each occasion.
One incident took place in a hotel in Cork. The man asked the boy for a massage and started to strip off.
He then suggested the boy remove his top to avoid getting massage oil on it.
The accused then massaged the boy, masturbating him then the boy had to masturbate him.
Further incidents took place at two locations in Waterford and in a bed and breakfast in Monaghan.
The abuse followed a similar pattern and involved oral sex and masturbation.
When interviewed by gardai, the denied all the allegations.
Several trial dates were set, but the case could not proceed before the man entered a guilty plea.
The investigating garda agreed with Mr Costelloe that his client's guilty plea meant that the victims did not have to give evidence during a trial.
It was further accepted that the man was cooperative with gardai during the investigation and that he has two minor unrelated convictions dating back to the 1980s.
By Eimear Dodd
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