A former Christian Brother teacher and school principal, who sexually assaulted two boys 40 years ago, has been jailed for five and a half years.
Liam McGrath, who was known previously as “Brother Kilian”, can be named for the first time after a judge lifted reporting restrictions at his sentencing hearing at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
McGrath, (75), originally from Dublin, but with an address at Marketpoint, The Deck, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was described in court by one of the survivors of his abuse as “evil”.
Judge Colin Daly lifted a ban on the media naming McGrath after the two survivors in the case previously said they wished he be identified.
The two survivors, now adult men, were in court to face McGrath at his sentencing hearing. In their victim impact statements they said the sex assaults were McGrath’s “shame” and not theirs.
McGrath had pleaded not guilty at his trial to eleven counts of indecent assault on the two boys separately, on different dates in the 1980, in Limerick and in other parts of the country, and he was found guilty on seven counts and acquitted on the remaining four counts.
The two survivors, now in their 50s, told the court how McGrath’s sexual assaults on them had destroyed their childhood and haunted them into their adulthood.
“Everyday, memories, that I don’t want, infiltrate my psyche and have stolen my sense of safety, trust and peace, and, like a shadow they have followed me through school, relationships, work, and moments I should have enjoyed,” one of the men said.
This man said McGrath was a “persevering predatory paedophile” whose abuse made him suffer “anxiety, self loathing, and a relenting sense of worthlessness”.
“These are not just scars of the past, they are open wounds, they are every thought, every sleepless night,” he said.
“40 years is a lifetime, and I spent decades trying to heal, but, in truth, there is no undoing what was done.”
Turning to McGrath, the man said: “You stole my childhood, my innocence, my ability to like myself.”
McGrath showed no emotion throughout his trial and at his sentence hearing.
Asking the court to impose an immediate custodial sentence, the man said: “There was no leniency availed to me by the perpetrator, thus I believe leniency should not be afforded to the perpetrator who preyed upon a child”.
The second survivor told McGrath: “I was an innocent thirteen year old boy, you manipulated access to me by befriending my parents, and you used your position to get their trust, and you then used me for your sexual gratification.”
“You changed me from a happy, talkative child, to someone more introverted who had to deal with shame and guilt, huge fear; and the effects of it have followed me my entire adult life,” the man said.
The two survivors said their personal relationships with their loved ones and friends had suffered due to the abuse they endured at McGrath’s hands.
One of the them told McGrath: “Each day I battle with the demons of your abuse, which has led me to depression. To cope, I have attended years of therapy, and require daily medication.”
“You refuse to accept responsibility for your abuse of me, but, the truth is out and I will no longer hold your secret.”
“My 13-year old self has been acknowledged and believed, and I can now rest easy, knowing I did nothing wrong and that your evil has been exposed.”
“I am a survivor of your sexual abuse, but at 56 years of age, I am finally free from your clutches and I can now live my life with my head held high.”
McGrath left the Christian Brothers after the abuse and got married and had two children.
Judge Daly said McGrath “befriended” the families of the two boys before going on to sexually assault them separately.
McGrath, who had no prior convictions, had encouraged one of the boys to masturbate him and would then lie naked behind the boy and have the boy masturbate him.
McGrath also attempted to put his erect penis in between the cheeks of this boy’s buttocks, but the boy stopped McGrath who would ejaculate on the boy.
In respect of the other boy, McGrath kissed him on the lips on two separate occasions, the court heard.
In one of these assaults, McGrath cornered the boy and kissed him, and in the other, he pinned him against a wall and kissed him.
The sex assaults took place at various locations around Ireland when McGrath was in his 30s and the boys were aged between 12 and fourteen.
The two survivors each individually made complaints to gardaí in 2020 and 2022, and the cases were prosecuted together in one trial.
Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley, instructed by State Solicitor Brendan Gill, said McGrath had been “implicitly trusted” by the boys’ families after he befriended them.
Judge Daly said McGrath was “sinister” in “engineering” occasions where he could be alone with the boys on different dates in the 1980s.
The judge commended both survivors for their “dignified” victim impact statements and said McGrath was also guilty of breaching their trust.