The former national and Olympic swimming coach, Derry O'Rourke, has been jailed for 12 years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the sexual abuse of young girls, mostly in a room known as the "chamber of horrors".
Judge Kieran O'Connor told him: "All that has been said in this case can only lead me to the conclusion that your behaviour was the planned pursuit of sexual perversion against young girls on whom you visited sex in a cruel and brutal way."
The court was told O'Rourke had sexual intercourse with three pre-teenage girls between 1976 and 1983 and sexually abused them and several other young female swimmers up to 1992.
Seven of his victims gave evidence in reply to Mr Patrick McCarthy SC (with Ms Isobel Kennedy), prosecuting, about the effect his abuse had on them, and told the court they had to do so as part of their healing.
Most of the victims and their families and friends stood on seats in the courtroom to applaud the sentence and hiss O'Rourke as he was brought down by prison officers while his distressed wife was comforted by her eldest daughter and her son.
Earlier, under oath in the witness-box, O'Rourke apologised to his victims and their supporters and told them he constantly prayed for them. He also apologised to his employers for the way he abused his position of trust, and to his own family for the shame he had brought them.
He said he had lived the last five years, during which his offences were being investigated, "in what is as close to hell as you can get". "The only thing I can add is that in all sincerity I ask everyone I have hurt, in the name of Jesus Christ to forgive me," he said.
O'Rourke (51), married with six children, of Edenderry, Co Offaly, pleaded guilty to 29 charges relating to 11 girls and covering offences of unlawful carnal knowledge of girls under the age of 15, and of sexual assault and indecent assault, from 1976 to 1992. The full indictment had 90 charges.
Judge O'Connor imposed sentences on 27 charges, totalling 109 years and made no order in relation to two charges. He sentenced him to two terms of 12 years for unlawful carnal knowledge, one each of seven and five years and eight terms of six years for indecent assault, five terms of three years for sexual assaults, and 10 terms of one year for other indecent assaults.
Judge O'Connor said he could not understand the "extraordinary decision" in the 1991 Rape Act to reduce the sentence to five years from a maximum of 10 years laid down in the 1981 Act. Before 1981 it was two years.
O'Rourke's wife, Julie, who gave evidence on his behalf, was praised by Judge O'Connor as "the bravest woman I have ever heard in this court". He also praised their daughter, Kirsty, who described the defendant as a very good father and provider. "You have a wonderful family whom you don't deserve," he said. "The only thing I can find in your favour is that you pleaded guilty and saved your victims the horrible trauma of having to relive their dreadful experience of what you did to them all those years ago."
Judge O'Connor said he thought it was unnecessary for O'Rourke's victims (who exercised their right under the 1991 Act to give evidence about the effect his abuse had on them) to do so because it made them relive the horror of what they suffered.
"I say again to you all - you had a horrible experience but you should now get on with your lives as best you can." Judge O'Connor said he had read the victim impact reports prepared by the Garda and knew all the victims had been badly scarred and had difficulties with their own sexuality by what O'Rourke did to them.
The superior courts had ruled that he must impose a reduced sentence on a defendant who pleaded guilty, but he believed the sentence for the offences had to be "exemplary and act as a deterrent" to others. Judge O'Connor said that only a person of the ability of the defence counsel, Mr Patrick Gageby SC, could make such an able case that a long sentence should not be imposed. While he accepted that O'Rourke was no longer a threat to children he had to impose a 12year sentence.
Earlier, Mr Gageby (with Mr Michael O'Higgins) said the worst of O'Rourke's offending happened 16 to 21 years ago. He referred the judge to a Court of Criminal Appeal judgment in a case involving old charges.
Mr Gageby said the court should deal with O'Rourke on the basis of the character he was now. If he was an inveterate paedophile the court would have to deal with that situation, but it was clear from a psychological report that he was not now a danger to children.
Counsel noted there had been no sexual intercourse offences after 1983 and there did not seem to be any offending from 1983 until 1991. He said the court should also consider the "awful effect" it all had on O'Rourke's family. His photograph and name had appeared in the media, which would cause his two youngest children to be pointed out. They had only now been told about the case.
Mr Gageby said if the trial had the effect of helping O'Rourke's victims to put all that happened behind them, it would have done something good and that should also be put into the equation in deciding sentence.
Det Garda Sarah Keane earlier gave details of how O'Rourke had sexual intercourse with three of his victims in his office, in his car, in the swimming pool and in his house. There was also digital penetration and oral sex. Most of the sexual abuse involved groping and fondling the girls' breasts on the pretence of checking their muscular development. That took place in the "board room" where swimming floats and other aids were stored. O'Rourke would send the girls in singly and follow them. Det Garda Keane said most of the girls and even the boys in the pool would "giggle nervously" about that room, but only the victims knew what really was happening. They were too ashamed and embarrassed to tell anyone, and didn't know it was happening to their friends. Even now, up to 20 years later, some of their parents didn't know about it. Victims were afraid to object also for fear it would affect their swimming careers. O'Rourke was a very successful coach for almost 25 years but has been unemployed since 1993 when the investigation began. He was a national champion from 1965 to 1967, national coach from 1976 to 1980 and again between 1991 and 1993. and He was an Olympic coach in Moscow in 1982 and in Barcelona in 1992.
He once coached the triple-gold Olympic medallist, Michelle de Bruin, but there were no allegations of impropriety in his conduct with her.