‘horrible individual’ | 

Sex abuse victims of former judge say he was a ‘fraud’ who ‘conned and manipulated’ them

‘He betrayed me to my inner core. His actions have caused me a lifetime of chronic anxiety, a decade of zero self worth, a suicide attempt and a nervous breakdown’

Today at 16:44

VICTIMS of sexual abuse by former judge Gerard O’Brien have said they were “conned and manipulated” by an “extremely egotistic and conniving” man.

O’Brien (59), a schoolteacher at the time, was a “fraud” and a “horrible individual” who had been trusted and admired by his pupils, but abused his position of “privilege and power,” they said.

Three men who were students of O’Brien in the 1990s made victim impact statements for his pre-sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court today. They were among six young men O’Brien was convicted of abusing.

Postponing sentencing to next month, Mr Justice Alexander Owens said he wanted prison authorities to be sent an occupational therapist’s report on O’Brien, who is disabled and will have special requirements in jail.

Judge Owens said O’Brien would be serving time in custody but remanded him on continuing bail until the next date, May 29.

Defence barrister Michael O’Higgins asked the judge for leniency, saying O’Brien had been an immature and lonely man at the time and had never been able to have an ordinary relationship. He had “scaled very lofty heights” but had now “come crashing down” and “lost everything,” Mr O’Higgins said.

O’Brien, of Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, was convicted by a jury last December of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault on six young men. The offences happened at locations in Dublin between 1991 and 1997, when O’Brien was teaching at a south Dublin secondary school.

O’Brien was in his 20s and 30s at the time and the victims, four of whom were his students or former students, were aged between 17 and 24.

He had denied all the charges.

O’Brien, who was appointed a Circuit Court judge in 2015 resigned from the bench after his conviction.

The court heard O’Brien, who was a “Thalidomide baby” and has a rare disorder, Phocomelia. He is missing both hands and a foot and would ask students in the secondary school he taught in to assist him in going to the toilet.

Many stayed overnight in O’Brien’s homes to help him get dressed in the morning.

One victim said he was 16 years old when O’Brien first asked him to bring him to the toilet.

“For a young child to be involved in such an intimate situation was strange but was fully encouraged by the school at that time to be charitable. In hindsight I think, why should young pupils have been taking him to the toilet in the school, considering he was surrounded by adult staff teachers?”

O’Brien “started pushing the boundaries sexually” until he assaulted him.

“I wonder now… could they have done more to protect us from you?” he said of the school.

“For many years I believed I was stupid or naïve to let this happen to me but now believe l was being manipulated and abused. I was manipulated by an extremely egotistic, conniving, intelligent man, who knew exactly In the back of his brain what he was doing – pushing the boundaries and seeing what he could get away with for his sexual thrills.

His resulting self doubt and anxiety were improving but “I will never fully recover from the mental damage that Gerry O’Brien has inflicted upon me,” he said.

“I am sure when Gerry O’Brien has served his sentence I will still be attending therapy on a regular basis,” he said.

The third victim read out his own statement, saying he was in fifth year when he was “recruited as a helper.”“Before I met Gerard O’Brien I was happy, outgoing and a trusting person who felt safe and secure within myself. It is impossible to say how my life would have turned out had I not experienced his abuse of trust, his grooming and manipulative actions. This behaviour should not be experienced by anyone. The results are destructive.

Mr O’Higgins said the school also had responsibilities and “did not rise to the occasion.” “People are rarely all good or all bad,” the accused had lived a life of adversity and it was a case that “must be taken in the round,” Mr O’Higgins said.

“He scaled very lofty heights, he’s now come crashing down, he’s lost everything; his standing has gone, his income has gone,” Mr O’Higgins said. “He cuts a very very isolated figure.”

The court heard O’Brien had brought his wheelchair to court in the event that he was sentenced today.

A testimonial was provided by retired solicitor Dara Robinson, a former colleague who said O’Brien was “in many ways a remarkable man.” He said this was not to detract from O’Brien’s convictions or their gravity.