‘appalling cases’ | 

Helen McEntee seeks advice from AG after judge convicted of sexual assault while teacher

‘I have been clear that we have a lot of work to do to achieve my aim of zero tolerance in our society for all forms of domestic, sexual and gender based violence’

Tabitha Monahan

Yesterday at 14:34

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said she has contacted the Attorney General for advice, following the conviction of Circuit Court judge Gerard O’Brien (59) for the sexual assault of six young men while he was a teacher in the 1990s.

In a statement following the conviction, Minister McEntee said she will consider the options open to the Government and the Oireachtas.

O’Brien, a former teacher at a Dublin secondary school, had pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted rape and eight counts of sexual ­assault which related to six complainants.

Four of the men were students of O’Brien.

At the time of the assaults, the men were aged between 17 and 24. Five of the complainants said they woke up to find O’Brien performing sexual acts on them which they said they did not consent to.

During the four week trial, the court heard that alleged offences occurred at locations in Dublin between March 1991 and November 1997.

“My thoughts are with the victims – these are appalling cases of sexual assault, I thank them for coming forward,” Ms McEntee said in a statement.

The minister said that in order to achieve zero tolerance in society for violence, it must be demonstrated that nobody is above the law and that this conviction is proof of that.

“I have been clear that we have a lot of work to do to achieve my aim of zero tolerance in our society for all forms of domestic, sexual and gender based violence,” she said.

“Part of that is clearly demonstrating that nobody, no matter what position they hold in our society, is above the law or immune from prosecution for such crimes.”

In the statement, Helen McEntee thanked the Gardaí and said she has asked the Attorney General, Rossa Fanning to advise on the next steps.

“I will now be considering the options open to the Government and the Oireachtas. I have asked the Attorney General to advise,” she said.

When giving evidence, one of the complainants said they had searched Mr O’Brien online and found out that he was a Circuit Court judge, which became one of the reasons why he made a complaint to Gardaí.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens said he would have put O’Brien into custody, however, due to his suffering from phocomelia, Mr Justice Owens remanded O’Brien on continuing bail until March 4, 2023, when he will be sentenced.

Phocomelia is a rare condition that can affect the upper and lower limbs. O’Brien is missing both hands and one foot.