A victim of vile paedo Michael Shine said the sexual predator still poses a danger to kids following his release from prison this week.
Pat Cusack, 60, who was abused by the disgraced former doctor as an 11-year-old boy, believes that paedophiles never change and, if given half the chance, would try and carry out more sickening acts against children.
And he said the manner of Shine’s release was an “insult to all his victims” – but added he won’t let the monster dominate his life anymore.
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror following the 89-year-old’s release from the Midlands Prison in Co Laois on Wednesday, Pat said evil Shine sees nothing wrong in what he has done despite destroying hundreds of innocent people’s lives.
He believes Shine has possibly abused up to 500 children over the course of his lifetime.
Pat added: “I believe for as long as he’s physically able he will pose a threat. All these guys – some are old men and have been at it for 30 or 40 years – but they are still at it.
“I believe that unless he is physically incapable of doing it, that is the only time he would stop.
“There are many in society who have these desires, but they have a moral compass, they realise that’s what they lean towards, so they don’t carry it out.
“That’s why I firmly believe that once they act out on their desire and get that gratification, they reach a new level and they don’t go back from it.
“At that stage they have no insight because they don’t feel like they are doing anything wrong.
“What I try to portray to society is that these guys are active out there in the community and once convicted or caught, you are always at risk. They still have the desire.
“The paedophile will never say sorry. I believe that [being] a paedophile is a born condition and that it becomes an illegal issue and a serious issue when someone acts out on their desires to find sexual gratification in children.
“I believe that it’s a conscious decision of the paedophile to act out their desires and that once that self-control is lost, in all cases the only time that desire leaves is when they are dead.”
And Pat said in his opinion Shine is the worst child abuser the country has ever seen.
He added: “Brendan Smyth was the most prolific abuser in this State, similar in that he used his position as a priest and got away with blue murder. His victims range from 140 to 150. Shine is double that already – that we know of.
“You have to remember he also worked in England and went on numerous trips abroad. He wasn’t just tipping his hand in the cookie jar for the odd sweet, this man was on a continuous mission, using his power to go around the corridors.
“He would have at least 500 victims. At the moment [there are] 340 that we know of, that’s 340 that we know of in Ireland. I know that he has to have another 130 to 140 on top of that. We are talking hundreds.” The father-of-eight, from Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan, was abused by Shine at the age of 11.
The schoolboy was referred to see the abuser at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda after complaining of stomach cramps.
He was brought into a consultation room with Shine while his own parents waited outside. It was during this time he was abused.
Pat said it sickened him this week to hear that Shine had been spirited away from prison after serving three years of his four-year sentence. It’s understood that he was collected out of view from the jail, which would not be the norm.
Shine was was jailed in 2019 for the indecent and sexual assault of seven young boys carried out between 1971 and 1992. Gardai have dealt with 189 complaints and at one stage there were 218 civil cases against him.
Enraged Pat added: “Still getting special treatment despite finishing a sentence for abusing myself and others.
“It’s an insult to all his victims that he couldn’t leave like others.”
He said that for him, Shine walking out of prison after serving his sentence is the final chapter in his story and he will not allow it to dominate his life anymore.
Pat, who has just penned a book which he hopes to have published, said: “I was prepared for his release.
“This will be my last hurrah, that’s it finished for me, because I can’t allow it to continue to determine my life.
“I don’t believe he should have walked with 25% remission, I believe that’s a flaw in the system that needs to be highlighted. As a sexual offender, whether it’s against kids or a rape victim or anyone else, no matter what form it is, if you get convicted of robbing someone of their innocence, they have imposed a life sentence on their victim, so they should face the full sentence also.
“There should be no remission. I certainly don’t believe a prisoner should get out of jail if he doesn’t even express remorse to his victims.”
Pat added the abuse inflicted on him projected him down a lifelong road of suffering which saw him turn to alcohol and self-harm in order to try and block out the pain.
He suffered in silence for more than 30 years until he opened up about what had happened to him with a counsellor at the Rape Crisis Centre in 2009.
Pat said that thanks to their incredible support, his life was transformed when he realised he was not to blame for the horrendous acts of abuse. He added: “It left me very f****d up. I believe that my life sentence began for me in 1974.
“I was only a young lad, when I tried to mention this to anyone I got knocked down. I decided then to lock it away in my head. I was f****d up sexually, I was denied my adolesence.
“I was very mixed up with emotions and particularly sexually growing up. My own sexual development was stunted somewhat in the way that after engaging with a girl I didn’t feel anything.
“I used to feel guilty actually, I used to think, ‘Am I after taking advantage of that girl?’. It sounds daft but that’s how it worked.
“My natural normal hetrosexual feelings towards a woman were completely and utterly wrecked, destroyed, until I went to rehab in 2004. Then I realised what was wrong with me and that I was very broken.”
Pat revealed he tried to drink away the pain he was suffering for many years: “I tried to drink it to oblivion and get sad in myself and realise that I was f****d up. I had so much guilt for all those years for something that I wasn’t responsible for. As you go on it gets stronger and stronger, so you try and block it away more.
“Then after that I started inflicting pain on myself. That was deliberate self-harm.
“My reason for doing it was that I wanted to inflict enough pain on myself that I didn’t feel the pain of what happened. I went to the Rape Crisis Centre in 2009, when I thought I was strong, and then I realised the enormity of what was going on.
“During the second session I absolutely broke down completely.
“It was like an exorcism. It was like the devil had come out of me. I sobbed and sobbed and crumbled on the floor. That was the day I got the monkey off my back and realised it wasn’t my fault. From then on I was able to move on.”
And when it comes to confronting Shine, Pat said there is only one question he would ask him: “Have you no conscience?” Pat said life is good for him now and he has his eight children and supportive wife Julie to thank for it. He concluded: “I’m a very lucky man. My knees went when I met Julie. I couldn’t have done it without her and the kids.”
- If you or someone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article please contact: Dublin Rape Crisis Centre national 24-hour helpline 1800 77 8888, Samaritans helpline 116 123, Aware helpline 1800 80 48 48 or Pieta House on 1800 247 247.
