A former maths teacher at a private primary school run by the Spiritan order of priests in south Dublin has been jailed for ten years for indecently assaulting eight young boys in the 1970s and 1980s.
Peter Kelly was a teacher at Willow Park school in Blackrock for almost 30 years.
The 73-year-old was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of 28 counts of indecent assault.
One man told the court that Kelly was "one cog in a machine of systematic abuse" at Willow Park and secondary school, Blackrock College.
Kelly began teaching at Willow Park primary school in 1977.
He resigned in 2004 after an investigation following a complaint made in 2001.
The Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to prosecute him at that stage.
However, earlier this year, he went on trial at the Circuit Criminal Court, charged with 28 counts of indecent assault against eight boys.
All were aged between around 10 and 13 when the assaults took place. Some of the offences took place in the classroom and some in changing rooms.
Kelly denied the charges but was convicted by a jury last month. The court heard that he does not accept the verdicts.
Many of the boys gave evidence that Kelly wore a black gown and would put them under his gown and cuddle and fondle them - something he referred to as "The Muppet Show".
He would also tickle boys, calling it "death by tickles", slap them, bounce them on his crotch and touch their genital areas or make them touch his.
The boys also gave evidence of physical punishment, although this did not form part of the charges against Kelly.
However, the prosecution case was that he used physical and sexual violence to demean the boys in his class.
The boys are now men in their 50s and the court heard emotional and moving victim impact statements from all eight of them.
Most described suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Some had struggled with addiction and lived with self doubt, fear, depression and anxiety.
Judge notes bravery of men
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Elma Sheahan said she was struck by the bravery of the men.
She said they had to bare their souls in front of their families and strangers, and she was struck by the eloquent expression of their very real and ongoing hurt and torment.
The judge noted the damage done to the men as well as the intergenerational hurt caused to the men's partners and children. She said they had waited for decades to tell their stories and to be believed.
Judge Sheahan said their families may not have understood at the time why they behaved a certain way as young boys - withdrawing, refusing to attend school and even moving abroad.
She said the worry and upset caused to those close to the victims was another aspect of the harm done.
The judge pointed out that it was not just the young age of the boys which made them vulnerable.
She said some of them were already traumatised from the loss of a parent, or from more severe abuse at the hands of other teachers at Willow Park.
The judge said she noted the further hurt caused to some of his victims in comments that he made during his evidence to his trial. She said this was very unfortunate, but was ultimately rejected by the jury.
Judge Sheahan said the gravity of the offending was significant.
She said the aggravating factors were the seriousness of the offending, Kelly’s position in the boys' lives, the breach of trust, the age disparity, the repetitive nature of the offending and the number of children abused.
Other aggravating factors, the judge said, were the vulnerability of the children and the fact that some of the offending took place in the classroom in front of their peers.
In mitigation, she said she took into consideration the lack of previous convictions, as well as Kelly’s age and ill health.
The judge was told that he suffers from a number of physical and psychological issues, including metastatic prostate cancer.
She said she noted a testimonial by Kelly’s brother in relation to his efforts to help those in need in his community.
Most of the offences carried a maximum sentence of ten years although some carried a maximum of two years because of the dates on which they were committed.
Judge Sheahan said "having stood back" and looked at the case in its entirety, she would impose a total sentence of ten years in prison.
