NORTHERN IRELAND
news.com.au (Australia)
A NOTORIOUS paedophile priest told a doctor he had sexually abused hundreds of children, an inquiry in Northern Ireland has heard.
FR Brendan Smyth made the admission in February 1994 – the year he was jailed for his crimes.
He said: “Over the years of religious life it could be that I have sexually abused between 50 and 100 children. That number could even be doubled or perhaps even more.”
Northern Ireland’s long-running Historical Abuse Inquiry (HIA) is holding a focused module into how Smyth, a member of the Norbertine Order, was allowed to continue offending for more than four decades.
Joseph Aiken, counsel for the inquiry, said it was the first time the serial child molester’s comments had been made public.
“The inquiry will have to consider whether it is also a story of a litany of missed opportunities to properly deal with Smyth by a significant number of individuals who were themselves in positions of considerable trust, power and influence not only over him, his victims and their families,” he said.
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