Donegal priest cleared of indecently assaulting Derry teenager

IRELAND
Donegal Democrat

Published on Friday 29 June 2012

A Moville born parish priest cleared of indecently assaulting a teenage girl in Derry two decades ago has spoken of his relief to end “the darkest two years” of his life.

On Wednesday a jury at Derry Crown Court found Fr Eugene Boland (66), of Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh not guilty by majority verdict on all five charges against him of indecent assault on a girl aged around 14 years-old. The charges related to alleged incidents in the parochial house of St Joseph’s Church, Galliagh between June 28, 1990 and June 30, 1992 where she worked as a volunteer.

There were cheers from supporters of Fr Boland as the verdict was delivered following an eight day trial and several hours of deliberation by the jury of four men and eight women.

Fr Boland said it was “the first day of the rest of my life”.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.