Paedophile priest to be sentenced

Paedophile priest to be sentenced

29 February 2012

A FORMER priest, who sexually assaulted young boys in his family’s holiday house near Tyrella, will be sentenced this afternoon.

Sixty one year-old Daniel John Curran, of Bryansford Avenue, Newcastle, assaulted the two boys while they slept alongside friends who had been invited to the cottage by the then priest to escape the Troubles in Belfast.

Curran, who was given a seven-year sentence for similar offences involving nine other children in 1995, has admitted indecently assaulting the boys on five occasions from 1986 to 1992, although he told police he was so drunk at the time that he could not remember it.

During a pre-sentence hearing at Downpatrick Crown Court on Thursday, a prosecutor said the first victim was a nine year-old altar boy when the priest asked his parents for permission to take him to the rural cottage.

His victim said he was delighted by the prospect of a trip out of Belfast and looked forward to the break in the Ballylucas Road cottage, which he later discovered was a “Spartan affair” without heating or electricity.

He said the defendant gave wine, which he described as the “blood of Christ”, to him and the other boys invited on the trips. He said he drank the wine because he had been taught to do “what the priest said.”

He said Curran assaulted him when he was in bed alongside four or five other boys who were staying at the house at the same time. He recalled the boys being late for school the next day but being excused because they were “with the priest.”

He said the abuse continued for the next two years despite his later attempts to avoid the trips. He said he failed to tell his parents because he feared he would be held to blame.

The abuse continued until Curran was suddenly moved to a new parish, a move which the injured party said appeared suspicious in the community because of its unusual timing.

The injured party admitted he did not tell police about the abuse when he was questioned as part of the initial enquiry into Curran in the mid-1990s because he feared being sent to a “boys’ home.”

He finally reported the abuse to police in 2010, when he said he felt ready to deal with the issue.

The second injured party told police he was also abused at the Tyrella cottage after seeking comfort from Curran on a stormy night.

He said he returned to the cottage on a second occasion but escaped Curran after one of the other boys suggested lifting up the ladder to the loft where they slept, meaning Curran could not gain access.

Defence barrister, James Gallagher QC, said his client was an alcoholic and “completely out of control” at the time of the offences, which he said had happened during the “saddest part of his life and had wrecked his life.”

When asked why Curran did not tell police about his other victims when first prosecuted in the mid-1990s, the barrister explained Curran had been sent to England by the Catholic Church for a course to tackle his alcoholism and sexual behaviour. At this time, he said he was encouraged not to name his other victims to protect their privacy.

Curran’s sentencing will take place this afternoon.