Former hospital consultant Dr Michael Shine has been acquitted of indecently assaulting youths, most of whom had been his patients, between 1974 and 1982.
Dr Shine (72), Wellington Road, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to the 10 counts of indecent assault on five males.
His trial before Judge Michael O'Shea at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court lasted four weeks and each of the five men, now in their 30s and 40s, gave evidence that Dr Shine masturbated them either in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co Louth, or at his private consulting rooms on Fair Street, Drogheda.
When the verdicts were read out, there were cries of shock and angry tears from some of the complainants and their families.
The jury retired on Thursday afternoon and spent the night in a hotel before returning with unanimous verdicts on each of the 10 counts yesterday afternoon.
Dr Shine's vigorous defence included giving evidence himself in which he denied the allegations and he called a large number of doctors and nurses. He had claimed that the allegations "were tied up with compensation, the malignancy of compensation" and the only people who thought he was a danger to the public were the press.
The first allegation was made in March 1994 by Mr A; the second was in June 1994 by Mr B. The other three men said they approached the Garda after hearing a surgeon was under investigation by gardaí. The complainants had all been between 14 and 17 at the time they said they were assaulted and say Dr Shine was examining them on their own when these assaults took place.
Although the case was first heard in the District Court in 1996/97, a number of legal challenges, including a judicial review and two applications to the Supreme Court, delayed its going to trial until earlier this month.Most of the victims have attended every court sitting and were present for the duration of the trial.
In his first statement to gardaí in November 1994, Dr Shine had told them that a year previous, he had got a telephone call from a man who threatened to kill him because he said he had been molested by him.
His defence said that Dr Shine was a general surgeon who tended to carry out full or general examinations which included a genital examination.
They said he did not have the time, secrecy or ability to assault the then teenage boys and argued strongly that the complainants were seeking compensation. There was a serious lack of medical records from the time relating to the complaints.
These arguments were dismissed as diversionary and a smoke-screen by the prosecution who said Dr Shine had abused his position as a surgeon to masturbate the five.
The jury was directed to return a not-guilty verdict on a charge relating to a sixth complainant following legal argument by the defence.