Teacher abused boy in front of class, court told

A primary school teacher used to brazenly abuse a pupil in front of his class, a court heard today.

A primary school teacher used to brazenly abuse a pupil in front of his class in the 1970s, a court heard today.

Patrick Curran, 59, a teacher at St John’s National School, Temple Street, Sligo since 1966, is on trial for 237 counts of indecently assaulting 10 different boys over an 18-year period.

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, one of his former pupils gave evidence that he’d been abused on a regular basis, sometimes several times a day, when he was a pupil.

“He assaulted me in the front of the class beside people. Of course they saw,” he said.

Senior counsel Gráinne McMorrow, representing the defence, said it was an unlikely and bizarre scenario that a teacher would parade around the classroom brazenly assaulting people.

The witness replied that he had been sexually assaulted on many occasions, which often involved Mr Curran squeezing into his desk and massaging his genitals.

“They were so numerous I’m sorry I didn’t keep a diary when I was eight years of age because it would be very useful now,” he said.

He told the court that he had been too afraid to tell his parents what was happening to him.

“My parents really liked him, partly due to the fact he was very clever to ingratiate himself with them,” he said.

When he threatened to reveal what Mr Curran was doing, the mood of the teacher changed. “He basically snapped at me and snarled at me like I was a piece of dirt,” he said.

He was thrown out of class and left totally traumatised in the school corridor. The head teacher came along and smacked him with his cane, which had Sellotape wrapped around its sharp edges, the court heard.

The witness said he was also abused on school trips including one to Glencolumbcille in Co Donegal, where Mr Curran sat beside him on the bus and abused him.

He told the court he was also sexually assaulted in the Gaiety Cinema in Sligo.

“I thought there was something wrong with me. Why was I being targeted? Fear was the keyword I used. It led to bed-wetting for an extended period, something I’m ashamed of but it was a fact,” he said.

The witness said he did not have any confidence when he moved to secondary school.

He told the court that he had placed the abuse at the back of his mind until he was called around Christmas 2000 by a garda investigating allegations of sexual abuse against Mr Curran.

The case continues.