Former schoolteacher accused of over 100 sex offences has more charges brought against him

Stephen Maguire

A former schoolteacher accused of more than 100 sex offences against children has had another 21 charges brought against him.

The man, who is in his 80s, appeared before Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal.

The man cannot be named at this stage of the court proceedings.

He is already facing a total of 110 alleged offences ranging from sexual to indecent assault against at least a dozen young boys on various occasions in the 1970s and 1980s.

All of the alleged incidents took place in North Donegal.

Five of the accused man's alleged victims sat across from him in court during the hearing.

Detective Garda Jonathon Gallagher told the court that a further 21 charges had been added but that there are no further charges pending which means the accused man now faces a total of 131 charges.

The man's solicitor, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client will be going forward on a signed plea.

He added that there was a cross-border element to the case and that it was a complicated case which had been ongoing for some time.

"There has been a lot of work done on this and there is a substantive file," added Mr Gallagher.

He said his client was a man of a certain age and urged the matter to be expedited as quickly as possible.

Judge Eiteain Cunningham said that there is currently a publication order in the case meaning the accused cannot be named at this stage.

However, she added that she would like to hear from the alleged injured parties in the case on this aspect of the case going forward.

Garda Sergeant Gerard Dalton said Gardai would canvas this and the case was adjourned until May 12th next.

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.