Judge convicted of sexually assaulting six males as a teacher in the 1990s

Claire Henry and Eimear Dodd

A Circuit Court judge who was a form teacher in a Dublin secondary school has been found guilty of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault against six complainants in the 1990s.

Gerry O’Brien (59) made no reaction when the jury returned the guilty verdicts in the Central Criminal Court on Friday. The jury deliberated for seven hours and 37 minutes.

The four-week trial came to its closing stages this week with Mr Justice Alexander Owens delivering his charge to the jury.

O’Brien, of Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault in relation to six complainants on dates between March 1991 and November 1997 at locations in Co Dublin.

He was in his 30s at the time of the alleged offences, while the six complainants were then aged between 17 and 24.

During the trial, the court heard O’Brien was appointed a Circuit Court judge in 2015 and had worked as a solicitor for over 20 years before his appointment.

It was the prosecution case that the six complainants were “each and separately the victim of sexual misconduct” perpetrated by O’Brien between 1991 and 1997.

O’Brien was teaching in a secondary school at the time, and four of the complainants were students.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.