A Circuit Court judge has indicated that he will finalise sentencing of a former Christian Brother, for indecent assault, in March.
77-year-old Thomas Caulfield, from Castlerea, Co Roscommon, pleaded guilty last month to three charges, relating to offences carried out in 1972 and 1973.
Galway Circuit Criminal Court heard how the abuse was perpetrated on the victim, Paul Grealish, while he was a fourth-class pupil at St Patrick's CBS National School in Tuam.
Mr Grealish, a well-known Galway businessman, detailed the impact the abuse had on him, in a lengthy victim impact statement he read to the Court this afternoon.
He outlined how Caulfield perpetrated the assaults while he was standing at the teacher’s desk, in front of the class.
Mr Grealish said he had been a happy go lucky child until he started fourth class, with a child’s understanding of good and evil.
He described his time in Br Caulfield’s class as one of "absolute terror", with an atmosphere of chaos and violence present from the start.
The 60-year-old spoke of how the offences took place under the guise of correcting homework and involved his teacher engaging in "systematic abuse", in front of his classmates.
Mr Grealish said he had nobody to turn to for help and did not tell a single person about what had happened to him until 1995.
In the intervening years he said he had suffered academically, had been anxious and fearful and developed symptoms of depression.
After discussing his ordeal with his wife in the mid 1990s, he asked her not to disclose the matter and went another ten years before confiding in his sister about what had happened.
Mr Grealish said it was only in 2013, when he got a letter from the HSE in relation to Mr Caulfield, that he decided he had to make a formal criminal complaint.
The Executive had written to him, as part of a vetting process it was undertaking, after Mr Caulfield had applied for a teaching position in Dublin.
Mr Grealish said his name came up in their investigations, on foot of a civil case he took against the Christian Brothers some years previously.
The Court was told how Caulfield had taught in several Christian Brothers' schools, in places including Mullingar and Ballinrobe, as well as at industrial schools in Artane and Salthill. He was transferred to Zambia in 1980 and returned to Ireland in 1998.
Paul Grealish said that he made a complaint to gardaí in October 2013, to protect any children who might be at risk from Caulfield.
He described the process as extremely difficult, as it involved "ripping off the bandages of psychological trauma". This was compounded by the lengthy delay in the court process, during which the case was put back on a number of occasions.
Mr Grealish said he had carried the abuse like a dark secret for 50 years but that with the support of his wife, children, family and close friends, he was now "reclaiming the life of his ten year old self".
Recalling his late parents and brother, he said the guilt and shame from the abuse belonged to Caulfield alone.
Defence Counsel Bernard Madden read a statement from his client in which he confessed to the abuse and sought forgiveness. He said he was full of remorse and sadness for the impact his actions had.
The Court heard that the former Christian Brother has a number of medical conditions.
Judge Brian O’Callaghan said that the term "historic abuse" in such cases was misleading, because the consequences of such offences live to the present day for people.
He said this was all the more reason for the justice system to deal with allegations of this nature as speedily as possible. It was "nothing short of disgraceful" that a person making a complaint in 2013 had to wait until 2022 to have their case heard.
Judge O’Callaghan said these delays were the consequence of a substantial lack of resources, that impacted on victims, as well as on those accused of offences.
He said the nature and type of offences before him required a custodial sentence.
The Judge said that he would impose a sentence of nine months in prison for the first count, which related to offences carried out in September 1972. Similar jail terms would apply to the other counts.
The Court acceded to a request by Caulfield’s legal team that a psychiatric report be considered. This will inform the decision as to whether the terms will be served concurrently or consecutively.
The matter will be back before the Court in March.
Caulfield sat expressionless in court, throughout this afternoon’s proceedings.
