Of Course, a dog ate my homework, a big boy did it and ran away, yes those poor ungrateful urchins misunderstood that we were imposing discipline on them for their own good. LOL
see below
Alleged victims 'may have mistaken punishment with sexual abuse'
18/02/2010 - 16:13:55
A jury has heard that a former Marist brother denied all allegations of sexual abuse that had been laid against him by five past pupils when gardaí questioned him about the incidents over ten years ago.
When asked why the men would have made up the allegations, the accused told gardaí: “They may have mistaken punishment with sexual abuse.”
The 66-year-old accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 55 charges of indecent assault at the Sligo school on dates between July 1, 1968 and June 30, 1977.
He has denied 14 charges in relation to the first two complainants, nine charges in relation to a third, 17 charges in relation to a fourth complainant and one charge in relation to another boy.
Ms Mary Rose Gearty SC (with Ms Dara Foynes BL), prosecuting, read four memos of the interview which the accused had with Sergeant Dermot Flannery in October 1999.
The men had made statements of complaint to gardaí between August 9, 1999 and September 18, 1999 with a fifth complainant making a statement in December 1999 after the accused had been interviewed three times.
Gardaí took a final statement from the accused after this fifth man made his allegation.
Ms Gearty told the jury that the accused admitted to gardaí that he had put young boys on his lap during class to reassure them and to teach them sums or help them with their reading.
He said he didn’t know if he had still taken boys up onto his lap when they were between 11 and 12 years old.
The accused further accepted that he had boys standing at his desk and that he could have put his hand on their back to tell them they were “a good boy”.
When the allegations of sexual assault were put to him by gardaí, the accused told them that the incidents had not happened.
He admitted that he remembered one of the complainants and said he had been a good student. He accepted that he could have put him on his knee but said he did not remember the child getting upset.
He said he recalled getting ringworm but said he did not remember this particular pupil getting the same condition.
In a second interview he denied that he had touched any child inappropriately but accepted that he had placed them on his knee.
“I did not do it to arouse myself and I got no gratification from it,” the accused told gardaí.
In a third interview he said he did not do “anything” to one particular complainant, when that allegation was specifically put to him, and denied that he had fondled the child’s private parts.
He also denied rubbing “the cheeks of the arse” of another complainant and denied that as he did that his face was covered with sweat while his, the accused’s hand, was under his garb.
He accepted that he did drink while he was teaching at the school and said he may have sometimes gone into class with a hangover.
In his final interview the accused accepted that he remembered that particular student but denied that he had “felt his back passage and played with his arse” or fondled his private parts.
He told gardaí he did not know why the man had made the allegations.
Sgt Flannery told Ms Gearty that a brother, who had been principal in the primary school, told gardaí that the classroom in question had large windows which came down close to the ground. He said people could see out into the yard through that window and people in the yard would, in turn, be able to see into the room.
Sgt Flannery told Mr Hugh Hartnett SC (with Ms Siobhan Ni Chulachain BL), defending, that gardaí never measured the classroom. He said the old teacher’s desk or chair were not available by the time the allegations were made.
He said that “at no stage” did a garda show the statement of one man to another complainant.
The trial continues before Judge Patrick McCartan and a jury of seven men and five women.
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