A former Franciscan Brother from Co Cork, who was previously convicted of masturbating in front of a male teenager at Knock Shrine, has been jailed for 27 months for indecent assault and sexual assault of a 10-year old boy.
Christopher McCarthy, 74, with an address at Richmond Court, Mount Kennett, Dock Road, Limerick, was jailed for three years with the final nine months suspended at Limerick Circuit Court.
Judge Pat Meghan said McCarthy could be identified. The victim cannot be named for legal reasons.
Read More: Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey released on bail over sexual assault charges
Reading his victim impact statement in court, the man told McCarthy he wanted him to “rot” in jail.
The man told the court how the sexual assaults had “changed my life forever”.
A jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts on two counts in McCarthy’s trial on October 6, 2020, after he denied the allegations which dated back thirty years.
The jury rejected McCarthy’s denials that he had rubbed his erect penis against the boy’s backside from outside his clothes; and that he masturbated himself as he grabbed the victim’s penis outside of the victim’s trousers.
A noelle prosequi was entered on another charge, that McCarthy had allegedly removed his own trousers and sat with his erect penis next to the boy and invited the boy to remove his pants.
McCarthy’s sentencing hearing heard that he sought out the boy for his own sexual gratification, groomed him, and that he wore tight shorts while he was in a state of arousal, telling the boy it was “ok if he felt aroused” too.
The victim told gardai McCarthy made gestures after the assaults “with his fingers to his lips” to mean he should not tell on him.
The victim said the assaults have “stayed” with him throughout his life and he eventually told his wife after seeing McCarthy for the first time in thirty years which “it brought it all back”.
McCarthy, who later resided at a hostel in Limerick City, denied the allegations when he was questioned by gardai in March 2019.
Addressing McCarthy in court, the victim said: “I have waited years to say these words to you — Christopher McCarthy, I fucking hate you — I hate what you have done to me, I hate that you have consumed my childhood and most of my adult life, I hate the fact that you sat through four days of your trial without showing any emotion of sadness or remorse for what you put me through.”
“I will never forgive you for what you have done and what you have taken from me. To be honest, it’s irrelevant how long (a sentence) you get for this, because it will never replace the years you have taken from me.”
“You will never understand how much you have taken from me, you stole my childhood, you robbed me of my innocence, you took advantage of my vulnerability, and worst of all, you made me believe that I would get in trouble for it — How fucking dare you do that to anybody, let alone a child.”
“You made me question so much about myself, did I do something wrong, did I deserve this, maybe this is normal, it took me a long time to realise that it wasn't my fault, I was innocent in all of this, I was a child and you were the adult.”
McCarthy told gardai he had “struggled with his own sexuality”, he said he was “not gay”, and he admitted he had had sexual relationships with both men and women, but he said he had “never touched children”.
McCarthy told gardai he had had sexual relationships with men only “over the age of 20, no children”, and, “I wouldn’t claim myself as a paedophile against young boys and young girls”.
McCarthy, who continues to deny the allegations, joined the Franciscan Order aged 17, but he left the Order when he was 20, he lived in London for a period, and he suffered with depression and other mental health issues, the court heard.
On January 7, 2020, McCarthy received a fully suspended three-month prison sentence at Castlebar District Court, after he was found guilty on January 2, 2019, of masturbating in front of an 18 year old male at Knock Shrine, Co Mayo, on September 17, 2017, a charge he denied.
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
