A 66-year-old former Marist brother who sexually abused young boys at a Sligo primary school 40 years ago has been sentenced to 12 months in jail. However, Christopher Cosgrove of Ballyhaunis Road, Claremorris in Co Mayo walked free from court today after the judge said he had effectively served his sentence from a previous conviction, which was subsequently overturned on appeal.
Cosgrove was found guilty by a jury last February on 35 counts of indecently assaulting four pupils at St John's National School in Sligo between 1968 and 1977.
The trial heard he had abused the boys in his classroom.
Cosgrove had previously been convicted of abusing the boys in 2005, but the conviction was overturned and he was released from prison and a retrial was ordered.
At his sentence hearing today, the court was told that Cosgrove had a particular fear of prison because of his age and the fact that his throat had been slashed during his last prison term.
Judge Patrick McCartan said it was one of the most difficult cases he had ever had to deal with in terms of sentence.
Judge McCartan said while the nature of the offending was not the worst of its kind, the age of the victims and the position of trust he was in as their teacher were aggravating factors.
He imposed a 12-month sentence on four counts of indecent assault against each of the four victims and ordered that the sentences run concurrently. He took the remaining counts into consideration.
However, he said Cosgrove was free to go as he had already served 11 months in jail, which was effectively more than today's sentence, as he would have been entitled to a third of the time off for good behaviour.
The court heard that Cosgrove is now a married man and was supported by his wife, friends and neighbours.
The victims in the case said they had been deeply affected by the abuse. Some had relationship difficulties, while others had problems with alcohol abuse and one had attempted suicide.SIC: RTÉ