A PAEDOPHILE ex-cleric, formerly one of Ireland’s most well-known singing priests, refused to apologise to his victims on his release from prison, snapping at our reporter: “I’ve done my time.”
Child predator and defrocked priest Terry Loughran walked free from Castlerea Prison on Tuesday morning, carrying his trademark guitar under one arm and his luggage and a large picture frame under the other.
The 67-year-old greeted our reporter with a smile when approached but his friendly demeanour quickly soured when told our reason for attempting to speak with him.
“Would you like to apologise to your victims?” our reporter asked.
“No, I’ve nothing to say,” the serial predator responded.
“Would you like to express any remorse at all?” we persisted.
“No, I’ve done my time, that’s all,” he responded before walking away.
Limerick Circuit Court heard three years ago how Loughran had groomed and sexually assaulted a teenager in parish houses in Croom and Kilfinane, in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, on trips abroad, and in hotel rooms after concerts.
Loughran ultimately pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault on the boy between May 1998 and January 2001.
The victim was aged between 14 and 17 at the time while the then Fr Loughran was in his late 30s.
One of Loughran’s two known victims this week told the Sunday World he wasn’t surprised at former cleric’s failure to acknowledge his crimes, before warning the paedophile is a master manipulator who will again try to embed himself in the community in search of new victims.
“He’s a manipulator,” he said, “and he will use that ability to get what he wants in whatever way h ecan.
“He embedded himself in my family, he was in my house every evening. He abused my brother first and then when he reached a certain age, he abused me.
“It’s what he does. He latches onto families with boys of a certain age where he knows he will be able to get access.”
The victim said it had taken him years to confront Loughran about the sexual assaults he was subjected to by the cleric as a child.
“He continued to interact with my family, even attending my graduation, and it was all about maintaining control.”
When the now grown-up victim did confront Loughran and obtained texts from the ex-cleric apologising for what he’d done to him, the beast turned the community against him and his family – even convincing the boy’s former principal and the retired community guard to support him in court.
“It wasn’t just me against him, it was me against all those people and the clergy as well, because he also had a priest with him, supporting him,” the victim said.
The victim said he fears that now Loughran is out of prison, he will once more don his ‘holier than thou’ façade “and be able to do exactly what he did to me previously.”
The man continued: “What he did to me happened years ago when he was a young man.
“He had the attention of women. He was popular in the community but his sexual preference was for young boys and it still is.
“I don’t believe he’ll change, no matter how long he has spent in prison and that’s why he remains such a threat.
“I’m just happy I was able to get a conviction against him while he was still alive and still young, possibly still preying on young boys in our communities.
“He was in Moyross, Kilmallock, Cappagh, Croom and Kilflynn – all these different areas where people trusted him with their kids.”
At Loughran’s sentencing in 2023, prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan outlined the case to the court with the assistance of Detective Garda David Boland.
Mr O’Sullivan said on July 31, 2017, gardai received a notification from the Limerick diocesan office of historic sex abuse following a complaint by the victim.
The barrister said Mr Loughran, who was “defrocked” in 2013, had denied the charges after he was arrested in 2019.
A trial commenced in 2022 with Mr Loughran pleading not guilty, however, he changed his plea to guilty after the victim gave evidence in the witness box.
Known as a “singing priest” who regularly played in concerts, Loughran got to know the victim while serving as a curate in Corpus Christi in Moyross.
On May 15, 1998, the victim, aged 14, went to a Lighthouse Family concert in Dublin with Loughran, who was 37. Another youth went as well.
They stayed in Bewley’s Hotel in a room booked by Loughran. They all stayed in one room.
The other youth slept in a single bed and the victim and the accused slept in a double bed.
The court heard Loughran started grinding his penis at the top of the victim’s backside.
The next thing the victim remembered was his underpants had been taken down and Loughran was stroking the victim’s penis as he masturbated himself.
When gardai put the allegation to Mr Loughran he “denied it completely” and claimed he “found it disgusting”.
On the way to a different concert, the victim had fallen asleep in the front passenger seat when he was abused.
Fr Loughran and the victim also stayed in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, where the ex-priest was ordained. The victim woke up to find Loughran abusing him.
A further sexual assault occurred in Kilfinane parish house where Loughran was assigned after Moyross.
Mr O’Sullivan said “similar” sexual assaults occurred on a skiing trip in Andorra, as well as on a camping trip in Fanore, in a hotel room in Dublin following a Bryan Adams concert, in a hotel room following a Lord of the Dance show, in a hostel in Glasgow following a Celtic match, in Croom parish house and in a campsite in Paris.
The victim told the Sunday World: “I feel utterly deflated that he is a free man again. We did get whatever measure of justice is available to victims in this country but I had hoped other people would come forward. I’m one million per cent certain there are other victims out there.”
‘I had hoped other people would come forward. I am one million per cent certain there are other victims out there’