Jury unable to agree verdict in action brought by man over alleged abuse in 1950s

A High Court jury has been unable to agree a verdict in a damages action brought by a man who claims he was sexually and physically abused more than 60 years ago by a former teacher.

The jury in the civil action had been asked to decide if the plaintiff had been orally raped by the teacher on two occasions when the complainant was a primary school pupil. After more than six hours of deliberation following a six-day trial, the jury on Thursday evening told Mr Justice Alex Owens it had been unable to agree on a verdict.

The judge, after thanking the jurors for fulfilling their civic duty, formally discharged the jury, and exempted them from jury duty for a period of 10 years. He told them not to worry about not being able to agree a verdict as this often happens.

The man’s action will go before another High Court jury on a future date. Noting the defendant teacher’s age, the judge said that the case will be given as much priority as possible in relation to getting a hearing date.

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Allegations ‘rubbish’

The man, represented by Darren Lehane SC and Ronan Lupton SC, is in his early 70s and had sued both his former teacher and the religious order he is a member of, seeking damages for the abuse he alleges he was subjected to when attending a primary school in the northeast region in the 1950s.

The now retired teacher, in his 90s, denied the allegations, which he described in evidence as “rubbish”.

The man had also claimed that the religious order, which his former teacher is a member of, had failed to protect him and had allowed him to be abused. The order also denied all of the man’s allegations.

The plaintiff claimed that on two separate occasions the teacher pushed him under his cassock and forced him to perform oral sex. The incidents were alleged to have taken place in one of the school’s classrooms and in the school’s cloakroom after lessons had been completed.

He also alleged that he was physically assaulted by the teacher on occasions for things including not having his lessons done correctly. He said that for a long time he blocked out the memories of what happened to him but said he had suffered many personal difficulties throughout his life, including suffering from PTSD.

He also claimed that he was unable to be intimate with other people, and suffered from self-loathing and suicidal thoughts. He attended counselling but it was not until just over a decade ago that he remembered what had happened to him at the school.

Garda complaint

He made a complaint to gardaí but no prosecution was ever brought against his former teacher.

Under cross-examination from Mark Harty SC, the man denied that his claims were mistaken or incorrect or that that his memories of events were confused, incorrect or unreliable. He accepted that it was 40 years after he left primary school and followed many years of counselling when he remembered what he claims happened.

In his evidence to the court, the now retired teacher strongly denied ever sexually abusing the plaintiff. He said that he had no memory of teaching the complainant.

The teacher said that, as well as teaching thousands of students during his career, he had been involved in scouting for many years and that the only allegation of sexual abuse ever made against him was the one being made by the plaintiff.

Under cross-examination by Mr Lehane, the teacher said he had “no idea” why the complainant had made the allegations. He also said he had no recollection of administering corporal punishment to the plaintiff or any other boy he taught at the school in question.