A former national and Olympic swimming coach had sexual intercourse with pre-teenage girls and for many years sexually abused young female swimmers in a room which became known as the "chamber of horrors".
Derry O'Rourke was a successful coach for almost 25 years but has been unemployed since 1993, when an investigation began into his serial offending and is unlikely ever again to get work in that area.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told he once coached triple-gold Olympic medallist Michelle de Bruin, but there were no allegations of impropriety in his conduct with her.
O'Rourke (51), with an address in Edenderry, Co Offaly, pleaded guilty to 29 charges relating to 11 girls and covering unlawful carnal knowledge of girls under 15, sexual assault and indecent assault. The offences were committed between 1976 and 1992. He had no previous convictions.
Judge Kieran O'Connor was told O'Rourke originally faced 90 charges. The case continues today with evidence from victims about the effect O'Rourke's abuse had on them.
Mr Patrick McCarthy SC (with Ms Isobel Kennedy), prosecuting, said the victims wanted O'Rourke named in the media but wanted their own identities, ages and occupations to remain confidential.
Judge O'Connor ruled that O'Rourke's name and address could be published but directed that the media could not publish the name of the school or club where many of the offences were committed or any details which might identify a victim.
Det Garda Sarah Keane said that from the time the investigation began right down to the present, O'Rourke had shown no remorse. He refused to co-operate with the investigation at any time.
Det Garda Keane gave details of O'Rourke's sexual intercourse with some of his 11 and 12-year-old victims in his office, or his car or in his house. He told them they should inform him when they began their periods.
O'Rourke attempted to use hypnotism on a number of his victims. Some of them revealed that they only pretended to be hypnotised.
Det Garda Keane said the girls were too embarrassed, ashamed and afraid to tell even their parents about the abuse. Some of the parents do not know about it to this day.
One of O'Rourke's victims told Judge O'Connor that he "cruelly took away my childhood" by having sexual intercourse with her when she didn't know what was happening. She said she was 17 before she realised what he had done, although people might laugh at that in this day and age.
"I have come to court so that he can hear me describe how he has affected my life. He was a very controlling person and when he said `jump' I hopped. I thought everything he did was for my own good to be successful," she said.
She revealed what happened only years later to her husband but was still afraid to get counselling in case "some secreted anger inside me would break out and destroy my lovely children".
"I trusted this man and respected him. Our parents trusted him but he abused that trust. His guilty plea has not lessened my burden. I need to get this out now for my benefit," the woman said.
Earlier, Det Garda Keane, giving evidence of the abuse suffered by this victim, said O'Rourke first had sex with her after bringing her in his car to the Phoenix Park. When he stopped she shivered in fear and felt cold.
"He didn't kiss me once or show any affection whatever. It was a cold and painful act. He left me home and said I was not to tell anyone. I felt dirty and a lot of pain," the woman told gardai almost 20 years later.
She suffered similar experiences with him up to three times a week until her periods began when she was 15. He also told her how to perform oral sex. Det Garda Keane said O'Rourke started abusing this woman when she was 11, shortly after she joined his club. He began speaking to her about the facts of life and her periods. He told her she should know about these things and said boyfriends would ruin her swimming career.
Two other victims gave details of O'Rourke having intercourse with them. This happened in one case in his house on a bed when the girl believed he just wanted to talk to her about her swimming times. Her parents were still unaware of it. Another victim was 13 when O'Rourke called her into his office and attempted to hypnotise her. He placed her on his lap with her back to his desk. When she had her eyes closed he unwrapped a condom and had intercourse with her.
This victim told gardai that O'Rourke said she could swim naked as that was very enjoyable. He suggested he could arrange this at times when they would be alone at the pool.
Det Garda Keane said that in attempting to hypnotise his victims O'Rourke would ask them to imagine they were lying on a beach and to imagine a boyfriend lying down with them.
O'Rourke told them this "hypnotism" was intended to relax them so as to improve their swimming.
Many of the offences began with O'Rourke telling his victims he had to measure their muscle development. He would send a girl into the "boardroom", a storage area at one end of the pool where swimming aids were kept, and then follow them in. O'Rourke would then ask the girl to raise her hands on to a shelf and proceed to feel her breasts under her swimming clothes, telling each girl this was something he had to do to check their muscle development. Det Garda Keane told Mr McCarthy this was repeated with practically all the victims over a long time. He would sometimes order them to move their togs to their waists so he could "get a better measure" or would himself move their togs and begin fondling them. Most of the swimmers knew something strange was happening when he sent a girl into the "boardroom". Det Garda Keane said the other girls and boys would giggle nervously among themselves, but only the victims knew the full truth and told nobody.
O'Rourke would walk through the girls' changing room and the shower area. Because of that, some of the girls would wear their togs in the showers. Det Garda Keane said that two days after O'Rourke attempted to abuse a 16-year-old girl in 1992 she told her mother, who contacted a club committee member. This resulted in a decision that O'Rourke would no longer be left alone with girls and a female chaperone would accompany them on away trips.
Replying to Mr Patrick Gageby SC (with Mr Michael O'Higgins), defending, Det Garda Keane agreed there had been no offences of unlawful carnal knowledge after 1983 and no charges against O'Rourke between 1983 and 1991.
She agreed with Mr Gageby that O'Rourke had committed many offences of sexual intercourse with two of the victims and one such offence with a third girl. The most common offence involved his fondling of breasts. There were also instances of oral sex and digital penetration.
Det Garda Keane agreed that the fondling of the girls' breasts seemed to be well known among both girls and boys in the club, although there was no parental awareness.