A RETIRED SCHOOL principal and former Christian Brother has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for the indecent assault of one of his pupils over 40 years ago.
Paul Hendrick (75) of Croftwood Grove, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of indecently assaulting Kenneth Grace on dates between May 1980 and July 1984 at locations including in Dublin, Tipperary and Waterford.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard at a sentence hearing last May that Grace had waived his anonymity to allow Henrick to be named.
Garda Detective Enda Dowling told Monika Leech BL, prosecuting, that the incidents started when the victim was aged 13 and a first-year student at CBS Westland Row. Hendrick was second-in-command at the school and later became principal. He has no previous convictions.
The court heard the complainant also received extra tuition from Hendrick and was asked to help with jobs around the school for which he received sweets and cans of Coke. As he got older, he was given cigarettes and allowed to use the school van.
The court heard that the abuse took place in a number of locations including the furnace room of the school, which the victim would be asked to clean. This room contained some gym equipment and the abuse started with Hendrick challenging the victim to see who could do more pull ups.
This progressed to wrestling while initially fully clothed, though later they would both be in their underwear. Hendrick would restrain the victim during these incidents and Grace recalls feeling Hendrick’s erect penis against his back during these incidents.
The abuse escalated to include Hendrick stripping to his underwear and getting the victim to whip him or whipping the victim. The court heard Grace’s sister saw the marks on his back on one occasion. He told her Hendrick had done it.
These incidents also took place in a reception room of the priest’s residence beside the school.
The court heard the abuse continued over the summer months as Grace would be brought to the school to carry out chores. Hendrick also indecently assaulted the victim during attended camping trips to a farm managed by the Christian Brothers in Co. Waterford and a house owned by the order in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
The court heard Grace’s father passed away when he was very young. He was afraid to tell anyone as he didn’t understand what was happening.
The abuse continued until Grace was around 17, a few months before he sat his Leaving Certificate, when he could fight back and realised Hendrick’s actions were wrong.
The garda detective said Grace was isolated from his classmates during his time in the school. Hendrick would also shout at him during classes.
Grace made a statement to gardaí in 2018.
In his victim impact statement, Grace said he doesn’t consider himself to be a “survivor of historic sexual abuse”, but as someone who is trying to survive on a daily basis.
He said he had been a “happy child with happy memories” before he started at the school and Hendrick became the “father figure he’d never had”. He said the betrayal he had experienced had made it difficult for him to trust others.
“Your actions turned my childhood and adult life into a battlefield,” he said.
He said he hoped to see justice served and intended to live his life without guilt or shame.
“I’m not to blame. It wasn’t my fault, it was your fault,” he added.
Judge Pauline Codd had adjourned the case having heard evidence last May. Sentencing Hendrick today, Judge Codd commended Grace for “his eloquence, grace and courage” saying that he “spoke with insight and dignity” in relation to the impact the abuse had on his life.
“It is apparent that the abuse followed him through his life,” Judge Codd said before she added that the victim impact statement also made clear how life-long emotional trauma and pain follows children who are “exploited and groomed” in this manner.
She noted how Grace spoke of his loss of self esteem, the fact that he has been diagnosed as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the damage the abuse had on his education and subsequently his career.
Judge Codd also acknowledged the emotional paralysis Grace has suffered. “His evidence bears testimony to the fact that sexual assault of a young person often results in lifelong psychological harm. This is now acknowledged by society in a way that it was not when Mr Grace suffered the abuse.”
The judge said the love and affection Grace has for his wife, family and friends, was also apparent in his victim impact statement and she said she hopes that “he can continue to embrace all that is good and positive in his life”.
The judge noted that she was bound by the law that existed at the time of the offending which meant that the maximum penalty available to the court was 10 years.
Judge Codd acknowledged that Hendrick had demonstrated insight, deep remorse and shame in a psychological report before the court but she added that nothing excuses the accused for what he did, “people instinctively know the difference between right and wrong”.
The judge also noted that Hendrick entered the Christian Brother order when he was 14 years old and said his life experience would have been framed by this and “the prevailing culture of the time, affording significant power to those in religious orders”.
She said Hendrick would have been emotionally immature at the time of the offending and while that doesn’t excuse his behaviour, Judge Codd said it “puts it into context”. She also accepted that Hendrick has gained insight through therapy that he continues to attend.
Judge Codd also acknowledged the fact that Hendrick had pleaded guilty which she said was particularly significant in historic cases. She added that it saved Grace having to give evidence but said that most importantly a guilty plea “vindicates” the victim.
The judge said she was taking into account testimonials which stated that Hendrick was an excellent teacher and a kind man who has spent time taking care of people in the community. She further acknowledged the fact that he will be on the sex’s offender’s register.
Judge Codd said that the offences warranted a sentence of four years. She suspended the final six months of that sentence on condition that Hendrick continue to undergo the recommended treatments under the supervision of the Probation Service.
Philip Rahn SC, defending, said his client wished to offer a full apology to Grace.
His client attended CBS as a child and joined the Christian Brothers when he was 14. He joined the teaching staff at CBS Westland Row in 1978 and became principal in 1981, a post he held until his retirement in 1994.
His client had a leadership role within the order, which was lost when these allegations came to light. Rahn said Hendrick had suffered a “long fall from grace”.
Rahn handed in a number of testimonials from family and past pupils and a report from a forensic psychologist.
Defence counsel said the report outlines that Hendrick had a poor understanding of sexual and relationship matters at the time of the offending, but now recognises that he engaged in grooming behaviour which had a significant impact on the injured party.
He asked the court to take into consideration his client’s guilty plea, age, lack of previous convictions and the passage of time since the offending occurred.
Grace said he suffered with his mental health including depression, anxiety and PTSD, due to the abuse. This has had an impact on his family life, but he said he vowed one night that the abuse had “taken my childhood, but would not take my family”.
He said he had been a “particularly vulnerable child” who knew no one and had no friends when he joined the school. Hendrick made his life at school “a living hell” and none of the other pupils would sit beside him in classes.
He said Hendrick’s actions had made him “feel worthless, when he should have had hope for the future”.
Hendrick attended the garda station voluntarily with his solicitor on 13 December 2018. He was interviewed on six occasions, during which he denied the allegations but accepted the victim had been one of his pupils.
Rahn told the court Hendrick helped to set up the Life Centre charity in 1996 and carried out community work in Cherry Orchard in later years.
Hendrick is now retired and lives with other members of the order.
His client has had a number of health setbacks and has been treated for cancer.
Defence noted that Hendrick will be placed on the sex offenders register, which will also be a punishment in itself.
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