Former judge to be sentenced next month over sexual abuse

A former Circuit Court judge, who is also a former secondary school teacher, will be sentenced next month for the sexual abuse of six young men almost 30 years ago.

Fifty-nine-year-old Gerard O’Brien of Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles in Co Tipperary was found guilty by a jury last year of one count of attempted rape and eight counts of sexual assault in relation to six complainants.

Some of the men were his students or former students at the time.

The offences took place in Dublin between March 1991 and November 1997. O’Brien was in his late 20s and early 30s at the time while the complainants were aged between 17 and 24.

O’Brien was born with a rare congenital condition, called Phocomelia which resulted in him being born with no arms and only one leg. During his trial he said his mother was convinced she had taken the drug Thalidomide and that his injuries resulted from that.

Judge Alexander Owens said it was likely he would impose a custodial sentence on O’Brien and has asked for a report from the prison service about how they can meet O’Brien’s needs in prison in view of his disabilities.

Prosecuting counsel Anne Marie Lawlor said a thread throughout the case was O’Brien’s very significant physical disabilities leading him to requiring additional assistance dressing and going to the toilet. He was very involved in extracurricular activities in the school where he taught, especially an annual school musical.

Many of the young men admired him greatly as a teacher, Ms Lawlor said. They looked up to him, became friends with him and assisted him where they could.

She told the jury that a feature of the case was the way O’Brien groomed the young men. She said he developed inappropriate relationships and favoured certain students. This involved giving them alcohol and taking them to the pub, she said.

Five of the complainants described waking up to a sexual assault after staying overnight in his home. The trial heard they would stay in O’Brien’s home to help him get dressed and shaved in the morning. They said they had been drinking with O’Brien and woke up to find him performing sexual acts on them.

One complainant said O’Brien sexually assaulted him while he was bringing him to the toilet in a pub.

The men are now in their 40s and early 50s. Many became upset as they gave their evidence.

O’Brien had denied all the allegations against him.

He resigned as a judge in January this year.

The court heard victim impact statements from three of the victims. One man said he was 16 years old and a student in the school when O’Brien first asked him to help with the toilet.

In his statement, he said trusting a young child to be involved in such an intimate situation was fully encouraged by the school. But he said he now questioned why that situation arose when O’Brien was surrounded by adult teachers.

He asked if the school could have done more to protect the boys from him.

More to follow….