I felt like a criminal, says abuse victim

A former teacher has been spared a criminal record as well as a jail sentence for indecently assaulting an eight-year-old boy in the 1960s.

At Dublin District Court yesterday, Judge Anthony Halpin described as “unacceptable conduct” the victim’s decision to make a criminal complaint after he received compensation from his abuser in civil proceedings a decade ago.

Outside court, the victim said: “At one stage in the court, I felt like a criminal, I honestly felt like a criminal.”