NEWRY (UNITED KINGDOM)
BBC [London, England]
December 21, 2023
A man who said he was abused by a priest at a County Down school will receive £500,000 in damages.
The High Court hearing centred on alleged sexual and physical abuse over a five-year period in the 1980s, when the man was a pupil.
According to court papers, the plaintiff was sexually assaulted in a series of locations.
These included the vestry, priests’ corridor and lounge, the nuns’ chapel and the president’s business office.
A statement of claim said he was targeted and groomed by the priest, who has since died, for the purposes of an abusive sexual, physical and emotional relationship.
The man, who is not being named, sued the diocese and the school’s board of governors.
‘A welcome vindication’
Claire McKeegan, of Phoenix Law, said the settlement is “a welcome vindication” for the man, who was “repeatedly sexually abused”.
Ms McKeegan added that “there was no escape from [the priest’s] campaign of terror”.
“For three decades he acted under the protective cloak of the church.
“The pain and suffering is lifelong for children who have been violated in this grotesque manner by those in positions of trust.”
Constant fear
The priest also allegedly choked the man, punched and slapped him on multiple occasions and told him not to tell anyone.
Lawyers for the man said he believed the priest surreptitiously put vodka in his fizzy drink before molesting him.
The court was told he lived in constant fear during his time as a student at the school, became suicidal and even considered burning down the priests’ chapel.
It was alleged that the assaults became less frequent when the priest moved on to abuse another boy.
Since leaving the school, the plaintiff has spent several years unable to work due to his psychological injuries and trauma.
The priest was accused of a long campaign of child sexual abuse but was never prosecuted or questioned by police about claims made against him.