A 77-year-old former Christian Brother has been sentenced to 27 months in prison with the final seven months suspended after being convicted of the abuse of a schoolboy 50 years ago.
Thomas Caulfield of Castlerea, Roscommon, pleaded guilty to three sample charges of indecent assault, representing the year-long abuse of a 10-year-old in Fourth Class in St Patrick’s CBS National School in Tuam, Co Galway, from September 1972 to May 1973.
Judge Brian O’Callaghan commended the courage of now 60-year-old Galway city businessman Paul Grealish for bringing the abuse to light.
He sentenced Caulfield to nine months’ imprisonment on each of the charges, the sentences to run consecutively, with the final seven months suspended for mitigating factors, including his guilty plea and ill-health.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Grealish said that the sentence represents the end of a half-century journey for him.
“Today’s sentencing of Thomas Caulfield for sexual abusing me when I was nine years of age represents the end of a 50 year journey to justice for me.
“Since Mr Caulfield’s conviction last December and since I waived my anonymity, I have felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I have received many fantastic messages of support and encouragement, for which my family and I are extremely grateful,” he said.
“I have also, however, been taken aback by the sheer number of people who have told me that they too have been directly affected by similar issues. And the extent to which these issues have affected them throughout their lives, has also deeply shocked me. All of this suggests to me that the ongoing impact, scale of, and the numbers of people affected by historic abuse, is greatly underestimated.
“I welcome the recently announced Enquiry into Historic Abuse and I hope it will give full insight of the extent of the unresolved trauma and the numbers of people suffering in silence.
“I hope it will bring the issue of sexual abuse out from the shadows and encourage, facilitate and enable the recovery and wellbeing of the survivors of such abuse.I again call on the Christian Brothers to publicly explain why they allowed this abuse to happen to a nine and ten year old boy and why they denied all liability.
“I would urge anyone impacted by the issues raised by today’s conviction to talk to a family member or friend, or to reach out to one of the many support services available. Personally, I found Counselling to be absolutely essential for me to be able to successfully come through this process. I also benefited from the fantastic support and advice from Galway Rape Crisis Centre. “
“I am very grateful for the outcome today. I would also like to sincerely thank the Gardaí, and in particular Detective Sergeant Garda Sinead Cunniffe, the State Prosecution Team, my former schoolmates, my friends and family especially my wife Mary, and our grown up kids Sarah, Ruairí and Aran,” he said.
