Ex scout leader admitted 'molesting' young boys over 20 years ago but was not prosecuted, court hears

The accused went on to tell gardaí that he molested a number of other young boys in the scouts. The court heard that a file was submitted to the state solicitor, but there was a direction made not to prosecute.

O'Brien of Benburb Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to eight counts of indecent assault relating to four boys on dates between January 1, 1972 and 31 December, 1981.

He was jailed for four and a half years in October 2015 for sexually abusing six young boys on camping trips in the late 1970s and 80s.

Detective Garda Neil Plunkett told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that one of the victim's in this case made a complaint to gardaí in 1996 and that O'Brien was interviewed by gardaí the following year as part of their investigations.

During the interview, O'Brien accepted he was a scout leader and that while he could not recall the offences alleged by the victim, he was not denying them.

O'Brien told gardaí that at that time he was “molesting” a number of young boys in the scouts and the molestations had been going on for 10 years. He said he left one scout group when a parent confronted him, but a friend got him into another group where he continued to molest boys.

He said that none of the molestations were penetrative, but that they involved fondling and getting some of the boys to touch him. He claimed that he had not molested any young boys in eight or nine years.

Dt Gda Plunkett said a file was submitted in 1997 to the state solicitor and there was a direction made of no prosecution.

During an interview with gardaí in 2016, O'Brien estimated he abused between 30 or 40 children while he was a scout leader.

In his victim impact statement, which he read out in court, the first victim said that the abuse changed his life forever.

The man said that he came from a working class family and his father gave money to buy a uniform, rucksack and sleeping bag for his first camping trip.

He said that he never went back to the scouts after being assaulted on the trip and his father went “ballistic” due to the apparent waste of money. He said that he did not tell his father about the abuse until shortly before his death.

After he finished giving his statement, Judge Karen O'Connor told the man that it was very courageous of him to read out his statement in court and that his father would have been proud of him.

In his victim impact statement, which was also read out in court, the second victim said he suffered trust issues as a result of what happened to him. He said he knew what had happened to him was not right but could not speak up about it.

The third victim declined to make a victim impact statement.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court, the fourth victim said he developed an acid reflux due to stress.

This required multiple surgeries and he attributed it to being abused on the scouting trip.

Dt Gda Plunkett agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that the statement his client made to gardaí in 1997 represented not only an admission that he abused one particular boy, but also that he admitted other offences against other boys.

Mr Dwyer asked the court to take into account that “had the system worked better” in 1997, “a lot of this” could have been dealt with quite a long time ago.

He said he was under instructions from his client to apologise for his offending behaviour. He said O'Brien accepted he committed grave wrongs and caused untold damage to the victims.

Judge O'Connor remanded O'Brien in custody and adjourned the matter for sentencing on November 7, next.

Tears were brought to the child's eyes

Detective Garda Neil Plunkett told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that the first victim was assaulted by O'Brien on a camping trip with the cub scouts in Larch Hill, Co. Wicklow, in 1972 or 1973.

Dt Gda Plunkett said the second victim was aged seven or eight when he joined the cub scouts group of which O'Brien was the leader. This victim went on a camping trip with the scouts, but he could not recall the exact location of the trip.

Just before the scouts went on a hike, the child was pulled aside by O'Brien and asked if he needed to urinate. The child said no, but O'Brien began to grope the child's privates.

Before the two caught up with the rest of the group, O'Brien again groped and fondled the boy's privates.

That night O'Brien instructed the victim to sleep in his tent and during the night he reached into the child's sleeping bag and groped him.

Dt Gda Plunkett said the third victim rejoined the cub scouts when he was around 12 years old and that O'Brien was the leader of the group he joined. This victim was first abused during a camping trip to Roundwood in Co. Wicklow.

The child woke up O'Brien one night and told him that he had wet the bed, as all the scouts on the trip had been told by the accused to come to him if they had a problem.

O'Brien told him it was okay and instructed the child to get into his sleeping bag with him.

During the night O'Brien molested the child and pressed his private area so hard that tears were brought to the child's eyes.

The following night the child was instructed to sleep beside O'Brien and during the night he again fondled the child.

A similar incident occurred on another camping trip in Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, during which O'Brien again unzipped the child's sleeping bag and fondled him.

Dt Gda Plunkett said the fourth victim went on a camping trip to Longwood, Co. Meath, in the summer of 1981 and that O'Brien was the only scout leader present.

On a particular night the boys were making a lot of noise in their tent and O'Brien called this victim into his smaller tent. When the child woke up later that night his pyjama bottoms were pulled down to his knees and O'Brien was molesting him.

The victim thought that O'Brien was naked from the waist down and was rubbing against his back.

The following morning O'Brien said he was sorry for what happened but that he should not tell anyone about it.