Former chaplain claims ‘revenge’ behind girl’s sex assault allegations

IRELAND
Irish Times

Mary Carolan

A former priest being sued in the High Court for alleged sexual assault and abuse of a teenager in a school where he was chaplain told a school disciplinary hearing “revenge for not going with her” was the motivation behind the claims.

At that hearing in 2012, the man, who left the priesthood some years ago, denied any sexual activity took place at the girl’s home when her parents were away; when she was babysitting for a neighbour, in the chaplain’s office, the oratory or his car.

He also told the hearing he at one stage pleaded with the girl to stop and and rejected her by telling her to “f*** off”. “I wanted to get out from under her clutches,” he said.

In her High Court proceedings, the now 28-year old woman alleges that between 2004 and 2007 she was repeatedly physically and sexually assaulted, falsely imprisoned and sexually abused, and subjected to sexualised behaviour by the then Catholic chaplain, who was also a teacher in her secondary school.

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