Gardaí are given the run around

From today's Irish Times webpage.

It's a familiar story. So too is the paragraph in red. As recently as October 2009. Nothing has changed. Indeed, it often seems church authorities promote the men who facilitate the 'run arounds'.

Ex-priest jailed for abusing boy
A former Catholic priest who sexually abused a young boy over 30 years ago and fled the country because of “adverse publicity” before gardaí could interview him has been jailed for one year.

Patrick Hughes (82), of Parkdunne Court, Castleknock, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four counts of indecent assault against the child, then an altar boy, aged between 11 and 14 years old, on dates between 1979 and 1983. The maximum penalty for the offence is two years.

The court heard during the initial sentence hearing last October that gardaí attempting to investigate the abuse were “given the run around by Church authorities” in their efforts to locate Hughes for questioning.

Detective Sergeant Joseph McLoughlin told by Judge Katherine Delahunt that gardaí located Hughes in England on a tip-off over 10 years after first being made aware of the allegations.

Judge Delahunt said the offences had represented a gross breach of trust”.

She acknowledged that “adverse publicity” had caused Hughes to flee Ireland but noted that he had sought rehabilitation and treatment while out of the jurisdiction and had made a voluntary statement when he eventually returned.

She accepted that his plea of guilty had “saved the victim the horror of having to relive” the abuse and that he had since shown remorse for his actions.

Det Sgt McLoughlin told the court the boy was abused by Hughes in a parochial house, on trips to the beach and in his car. The abuse consisted of fondling the boy’s genital area. The priest also took photographs of the boy in swim wear and showed him “mild” porn.

Remy Farrell, defending, read from a statement prepared by Hughes in which he “profoundly apologises for the distress I have caused this gentleman and his family”.

The boy also reported the priest giving him money on one occasion and taking locks of his hair.

Det Sgt McLoughlin said the boy’s mother asked him if he had been abused some years later after she read a newspaper story about Hughes and he broke down and told her what had happened to him.

He told Mr Farrell, during cross examination, that a complaint was made to gardaí in 1995 but that the investigation “ran into the sand”.

He said the victim contacted the Garda Commissioner in 2002 to check on the status of the case but efforts to locate the accused man proved fruitless.

Det Sgt McLoughlin agreed with Mr Farrell that gardaí were “getting the run around from Church authorities.”

He said they were initially unable locate the accused man through the Archbishop’s Palace but a “liaison priest” contacted him in 2003 and said the accused wished to speak to gardaí. He said that a few days before the meeting was to take place he received a call to say the accused would not be attending.

He said that was the last that he heard about the accused man’s location and efforts to find him were unsuccessful until gardaí received a tip-off and made contact with the man in 2007.

Det Sgt McLoughlin said the accused, who has no previous convictions, told gardaí he remembered the boy and admitted touching him inappropriately. He said his memory was not great and he expressed remorse.