A former Thurles Circuit Court judge, due to be sentenced today for the sexual abuse of six young men, some 30 years ago, has had the case adjourned, yet again, before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon, until Friday of this week.
Mr Gerard O’Brien, aged 59 years, of the School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, had been convicted in December 2023 last, at the Central Criminal Court on one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault, relating to all six victims.
The offences were understood to have occurred at locations in Dublin, between March 1991 and November 1997, during a time when Mr O’Brien was employed as a teacher at Christian Brothers College, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.
His victims; four of whom were students or former students, were then aged between 17 and 24 and same had previously indicated they wished for O’Brien to be named publicly, while maintaining their own personal anonymity.
Mr O’Brien was born with the rare congenital condition, known as Phocomelia, which has resulted in him being born with no arms and only one leg; same injuries brought on by the congenital anomaly of the drug Thalidomide, brought into prominence as a characteristic side effect of the use of the drug, used during pregnancy.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens had previously indicated, that his provisional view was that he would impose a custodial sentence on Mr O’Brien and had sought a report from the Irish Prison Services in relation to the facilities which would be available to O’Brien, before remanding him on continuing bail until today.
O’Brien had pleaded not guilty to all the allegations. The former teacher; Tipperary Fianna Fáil Councillor and Circuit Court judge (appointed to the latter post in 2015), resigned as a judge in January 2024.
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