A 78-year-old former scout master has been remanded in custody after he was convicted of indecently assaulting five young boys when they were members of his scout troop in Cork more than 30 years ago.
Noel Sheehan, a retired hospital porter, with an address at Chimneyfields, Glenville, Co Cork, had denied all 17 charges against him when he was arraigned before a jury of eight men and four women at Cork Circuit Criminal Court last week.
Following a trial lasting six days, the jury on Thursday returned unanimously guilty verdicts on 16 of the 17 counts, disagreeing on the 17th charge after deliberating for more than six and half hours on evidence from a total of 12 witnesses including the five complainants, gardaí and the accused.
Opening the case, prosecution barrister Katherine McGillycuddy BL told the jury that Sheehan was a scout master with a troop of scouts in Cork city in the late 1980s and that he used to take members away on camping weekends.
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She said they would hear evidence from the five complainants that he indecently or sexually assaulted them, which involved touching and fondling their private parts both inside and outside their clothing during these camping weekends.
Sheehan had been charged with six counts of indecent assault against each of two of the complainants, three counts of indecent assault in respect of another complainant, and one count of assault against each of the other two complainants.
Sheehan had denied all the offences, which occurred between 1987 and 1990, when his victims were aged 10 to 13 years, with some 13 of the offences being committed at a scout hall at Old Schoolhouse, Chimneyfields, Glenville, three being committed at Mount Melleray, Co Waterford and one at Drishane Castle, Millstreet, Cork.
One complainant told how he had gone on a camping weekend with the troop to the scout hall at Old Schoolhouse, Chimneyfields and that the boys used to sleep upstairs in their sleeping bags on the floor while Sheehan, the only adult present, used to sleep downstairs.
He said that one night he had heard Sheehan discharge a shotgun in a field and that later that night, Sheehan had come upstairs and ordered him to come down because he had been messing with some of the other boys. He said that when he came downstairs, Sheehan had groped his private parts.
“He put his hand on my penis; he had his eyes closed and he was snow white in the face and sweating on his forehead. He told me he was just playing a game... I went back upstairs but I couldn’t sleep, I stayed awake – I was a young fellow, but I was fairly angry.”
He said Sheehan told him he would kill him if ever told anyone about the sexual assault, and later told him following another sexual assault in Mount Melleray that he would shoot him. He said he was terrified because he knew Sheehan had a gun.
“He told me, ‘Keep your mouth shut or I will shoot you’,” said the man, who is now in his 40s, as he revealed that he had been terrified and left the scouts as a result. The whole experience of being abused by Sheehan had left him “shattered”.
Judge Helen Boyle thanked the jury for their attention to the case after they returned their verdicts, and remanded Sheehan in custody for sentence on June 13th to allow for the preparation of victim impact statements and a medical report on Sheehan.
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