Christian Brother Jailed for Sexually Abusing Boys

By Brian McDonald
Irish Examiner
October 10, 2014

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/christian-brother-jailed-for-sexually-abusing-boys-290739.html

A Christian Brother has been jailed for sexually abusing young schoolboys in his classroom.

Brother Thomas McCarry, aged 66, had admitted a series of sample charges of indecently assaulting four boys as young as 10 at a national school in the midlands between 1984 and 1987.

McCarry, of Clareville, Finglas Rd, Glasnevin, Dublin, displayed no emotion as he was handed concurrent sentences of two years at Mullingar Circuit Court sitting in Tullamore yesterday.

The court had earlier been told that the assaults all took place during school hours while the boys were aged 10 to 11 and in fifth and sixth class.

In statements to the gardai, four of his victims outlined how the Belfast native would approach from behind and lean over as if to help with schoolwork.

Instead, he pulled up the jumper and shirt of each victim and rubbed either his lower stomach or flicked his nipples in a sexual way.

In some instances, he put his hand inside his victims’ trousers and felt their private parts.

The victims told the court they were either frozen by fear or else tried to squirm and wriggle away from him.

In victim impact statements, two of his former pupils revealed that they had tried to take their own lives. One man wrote his statement from a psychiatric ward after his recent suicide attempt.

All told of a lack of confidence, inability to trust and problems forming relationships in later life.

In court yesterday, Judge Tony Hunt described the effects of the abuse on the victims as “very serious”.

He acknowledged that McCarry had joined the Christian Brothers at a young age 14.

However,, he said, McCarry could have left his “difficult regime” if he had found it too onerous, as others had done.