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Former school worker jailed for sexually abusing 19 boys

Conor SpackmanBBC News NI
News imageBBC A man with short grey hair is walking outside a large stone grey building. He is wearing a pinstripe blue shirt and tie, navy jumper and navy puffer coat.BBC
The court heard how Patrick Sharkey abused 19 victims over a 25 year period

A former Coleraine school worker has been jailed for six and a half years in the Republic of Ireland after pleading guilty to historical child sex offences.

Patrick Sharkey who is 83, admitted to 132 charges between the 1970s and 1990s when he worked at St Joseph's High School.

Letterkenny Circuit Court heard the charges involved 19 victims, many of whom were pupils at the school who were brought to Donegal for a weekend of outdoor pursuits like canoeing.

Jailing Sharkey, the judge said the offending was calculated, pre-meditated and predatory.

The court heard how Sharkey would take many of the victims on weekend canoeing trips, staying at his parent's home in Clonmany, County Donegal.

The home where he grew up is where much of the abuse took place, although other offences happened at addresses in Dublin.

At an earlier sentencing hearing, victims detailed how they would be made to share a bed with Sharkey on the trips.

News imageA large grey stone wall stands in a garden area outside a larger building made of the same material. It has a large stainless steel harp at the top followed by two rows of writing. The top line is in Irish reading 'Teach Cúirt Leitir Ceanainn'. Below is the English translation 'Letterkenny courthouse'.
Some victims, supported by family members, attended the sentencing hearing at Letterkenny Courthouse

Many of them described the years of mental and emotional trauma they had suffered, after waking in the middle of the night to find Sharkey touching them.

Last month, the court heard harrowing impact statements from several victims, including one man who thanked the 83-year-old for staying alive long enough to get his day in court.

In 2023, Sharkey was jailed for three years and four months in Northern Ireland after pleading guilty to nine counts of indecent assault on three boys between 1 September 1988 and 31 December 1998.

News imageA large school crest is hung on the side of an old red-bricked building. Underneath it is a sign which reads 'St Joseph's College' in white text. The crest depicts a book, the outline of two fish facing each other, a hand reaching out open palmed and a hammer and chisel crossed over each other.
Sharkey worked at St Joseph's from the 1970s through to the mid-1990s

Victims in that case were also involved in the case in Letterkenny.

Sharkey was told he will spend at least six and a half years in prison, with another six months served on licence.

The judge took into consideration a number of factors including Sharkey's age and declining health, as well as his signed guilty pleas, time served in Northern Ireland, and his willingness to engage with Gardaí (Irish police).

However, he stated the offending was "of a very invasive and sexual nature", outlining that "lives have been completely blighted, having been victims of your abuse".

"Victim's suffered foreseeable, life altering, psychological symptoms, which remain to this day," he said.

The judge added that Sharkey took advantage of the social circumstances of his victims and their families, and his offending "involved significant grooming".

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