‘This Shows No Matter How Long Ago it Was, That There Is Justice’

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Primary school teacher Patrick Harte was sentenced to three years this afternoon for the abuse of seven primary school boys at Synge Street between September 1968 and September 1970; The school’s crest with motto ‘Viriliter Age’ (Act Manfully)

This afternoon.

Via RTÉ

The men who were abused in the 1960’s and 70’s by Harte said they have finally been believed and have won their fight for justice.

An emotional Fr Tony Conlon, now a catholic priest, said afterwards they had fought for seven years and thanked the gardaí, the DPP, the prosecution services, and One in Four who had helped them over the years.

Harte repeatedly and continuously indecently assaulted his pupils in the Christian Brothers school in Synge Street amidst an atmosphere of severe corporal punishment, physical and verbal abuse, violence and terror.

He regularly beat the children with “the leather”, and once smashed a child’s head against a wall.

Harte found reasons to call the boys up to his desk, sometimes for praise and other times for correction of minor misbehaviours.

He would warn the rest of the class to look at their books and not raise their heads before he indecently assaulted the children…..

Ex-primary school teacher jailed for 3 years over sex assaults (RTÉ)

Pics: RTÉ

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10 thoughts on “‘This Shows No Matter How Long Ago it Was, That There Is Justice’

  1. Clampers Outside

    Fair play to you Fr Tony Conlon and the rest who pursued their case.
    Well done!

  2. White Dove

    This is only a fraction of the male sexual abuse out there. I hope that abuse victims keep sharing their stories as it is human nature to ‘look for the best’ and with the very best intentions minimise or try to explain away the wholesale destruction of lives resulting from this epidemic. Until we ascertain its causes we will continue to see the devastating effects of these crimes in our homes, our schools and our families. We owe it to the next generation to share and keep asking questions.

  3. Daisy Chainsaw

    I hope the survivors have some sense of closure and peace after their ordeal. Three years isn’t near long enough, but at least he’s been named and shamed. Well done to the men for their bravery and tenacity.

    1. Denny

      His pension should be divided amongst his victims
      House sold and strip him of everything he hasp worked for

  4. Grace

    3 years is a joke to be fair, no matter what age he is now. How many kids lives did he ruin??

  5. Vanessanelle

    Shamelessly Brutal and Even
    A prise F<cker
    In front of the lads class mates n'all
    as if he wasn't humiliating them enough

    Castrate him in-front of the school gates
    Stream it live
    and put him in solitary confinement for the rest of his life

    Three years
    ara ‘way ou that

  6. Cormac ryan

    The details reminded of my abuse by bother manning in wetland row same story others told to put their heads down while I was being molested reported to pearse Street gardai 15 years ago he denied no action taken happened in 1972 changed who I am.
    Cormac ryan

  7. Joe Small

    The weird part of it is that the focus is on the sexual abuse.
    We all know that the physical abuse, particularly in Christian Brothers schools, was widespread. Parents, teachers, authority figures were all free to beat children without fear until the 1980s and, in my school, there were the odd beating into the 1990s.
    In this case, the compete absence of acknowledgement and remorse is pretty galling.

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