School caretaker jailed for 18 years

A DONEGAL caretaker who kept his job at a school despite a conviction for sexually assaulting a pupil has been sentenced to 18 years for the rape and sexual assault of four more boys.

Michael Ferry, aged 55, abused the four boys on an almost weekly basis, some for as long as four years. He groomed them by supplying them with alcohol, cigarettes and money. He would also make them watch pornography with him, with one boy reporting to gardaí that the man had shown him child pornography.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said the authorities must have been aware that Ferry had a conviction for a similar offence yet he continued working in the school.