Convicted ex-judge could be jailed with healthcare assistant and disability provision

Gerard O’Brien was convicted of sexually assaulting six young men when he was a teacher

Gerard O'Brien was born without arms and with one leg as a result of the thalidomide drug being prescribed to his mother during pregnancy. File picture: IrishPhotoDesk.ie

A former judge with disabilities who was convicted of sexually assaulting six young men when he was a teacher could be held in a prison unit which will meet his needs, if he receives a custodial sentence in March, the Irish Examiner has learned.

In December, Gerard O’Brien was found guilty by a jury of the offences that occurred between March 1991 and November 1997 at locations in Dublin. 

Four of the complainants were students or former students at the school where he worked at the relevant times.

On Saturday he submitted his resignation to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and he will be sentenced on March 4 at Dublin Central Criminal Court.

The 59-year-old from Thurles in Co Tipperary was born without arms and with one leg as a result of the thalidomide drug being prescribed to his mother during pregnancy.

He taught in a secondary school, before becoming a solicitor and in 2014 he was appointed as a Circuit Court judge.

Mr O’Brien is currently on bail, and should he receive a custodial sentence, the Irish Prison Service has confirmed it will put in place a plan to manage his disabilities.

A prison source said: “There is a high volume of prisoners with disabilities, the prison service can and will manage them.

“That includes people in wheelchairs, on crutches and canes. This is something that can be managed.

“There are healthcare assistants in Irish prisons, there are prisoners who are in comas, some are receiving palliative care or cancer treatments.

"There is a wing in the Midlands which looks like a nursing home.

“There are hoists in some cells. This is not the first convicted person who has got a disability.

“There is no consistency with sex offender sentences though, whatever he receives in terms of a sentence will be up to the courts.”

Mr O’Brien was in his 30s at the time of the offences, while the six complainants were aged between 17 and 24.

He pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault but was convicted on all counts by a jury.

Had he not resigned he would have become the first judge to face impeachment, which could have been a lengthy process.

In 2009, one of the longest serving prisoners in Ireland, Geoffrey Evans who was convicted of the murder of two women in the 1970s suffered a stroke and remained on life support at the Mater hospital. He died in 2012.

For a number of months, a prison officer sat outside his hospital room even though he was in a coma and receiving palliative care. 

A decision was later made to electronically tag him.

In a statement the Irish Prison Service said: “All prisoners entering the Irish Prison Service have both a nursing and medical assessment completed within two and 24 hours respectively of entering the service."

The service is currently not able to provide statistics for how many people in Irish prisons have a disability, but those who do can be accommodated in suitable settings and with healthcare assistants. 

To this end the Irish Prison Service has two high dependency suites available in a Dublin prison where prisoner who require full nursing care can be cared for 24 hours per day. 

This includes both the physical environment with associated aids and appliances required and the availability of Healthcare Assistants alongside full-time qualified nursing and medical personnel.”