Sex abuse victim begs for mercy over costs

A MOTHER-OF-TWO who was sexually abused by her school principal as a child has begged for mercy over the legal bill of more than half a million euro she faces after losing a battle to make the State take responsibility for her suffering.

Louise O’Keeffe, of Thoam, Dunmanway, Cork, lost her last chance to force the Department of Education and the State to accept liability for convicted abuser Leo Hickey’s actions when the judges of the Supreme Court ruled against her by a four to one majority.

The tearful 44-year-old said the decision was outrageous. “There’s nobody responsible for what happened to me as a child. There has been more support for Hickey than there has been for me from the Department [of Education], ” she said.