Elderly priest jailed for sex abuse of boy

A 73-year-old priest was yesterday jailed for three years after he admitted sexually abusing an altar boy from the age of nine to 17 in west Cork.

The abuse happened when the boy stayed at the priest's house and went on foreign holidays with him.

The victim - now 22 - told Cork Circuit Criminal Court he had difficulty forming relationships and trusting people - he now suffered from low self-esteem, self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies. "The only thing I want out of this is for the whole thing to be acknowledged," he told Judge Patrick Moran.

The victim's mother said "Everybody in the area called us liars."

The priest apologised in court to his victim. A psychological report said he was unlikely to re-offend.