Wednesday, March 06, 2013

‘Not a shred of remorse for victims’

A former Christian Brother whose sexual abuse of three boys left them with deep, emotional scars showed not one shred of remorse for his victims, a judge said as he jailed him for five years. 

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed eight concurrent five-year sentences on Edward Bryan, formerly of the North Monastery in Cork, reflecting the eight counts on which he was convicted for indecently assaulting three boys.

Aggravating factors in the case, noted by the judge, were the prolonged period of the abuse, the multiple victims, and the age difference between Bryan and the boys.

The judge was particularly critical of the defendant for the manner in which one of the accused — who had no solicitor bringing civil proceedings — was challenged in cross-examination on the basis that he was only in it for the money.

After this victim gave evidence yesterday, the judge asked Blaise O’Carroll, defence senior counsel, if he would like to say anything on Bryan’s behalf to the victim on this issue.

“This was an egregious assault on his character. Do you have anything to say about that,” the judge asked.

Mr O’Carroll said, “No, my lord.”

The judge raised this matter during the sentencing. “Why he should be insulted in this way I cannot understand. I am saying it out of frustration: Why should he be subjected to this?”

The judge also said: “There is no shred of remorse in this, not a shred of remorse. I find that alarming. There was a conviction in June [after the first trial]. The [February] convictions cannot have come as a total surprise to Mr Bryan. The lack of remorse is particularly glaring as an aggravating factor.”

Det Garda Eimear Brennan told the court of the nature of the sexual abuse in the 1980s, which included getting the boys to strip naked, sometimes climbing on their backs and ejaculating.

Afterwards, the victims said the important thing was being believed and Bryan being convicted. One said he felt the sentence was a bit light. Another said: “To me, sentencing was never the issue.” The third victim said: “I am delighted he has gone to prison.”

All three gave victim impact statements.

One man said: “I felt worthless, ashamed, guilty and hated myself for not having the courage to come forward and report what had happened. On a number of occasion I sat in my car outside various garda stations in Cork and just cried. Unable to go in and tell what had happened to me.

“To see members of my family breaking down in tears in the [witness] box has been an absolutely horrible experience. I myself have spent over 10 hours in the witness box, the majority of which was under cross-examination. To have to go through all the graphic detail of what was done to me was something I wouldn’t want anyone to have to do. But I did it and if it took 20 trials and 100 hours in the witness box, I would still do it.”

Another victim said: “People ask me why did you not tell anyone — your parents for instance. I can only say I was ashamed, afraid, you dare not tell of allegations against a priest, teacher or anybody and I certainly wouldn’t tell my father. I couldn’t have told my mother, it would have broken her heart. I kept it locked away until it raised its ugly head. It has been haunting me for 23 years.”

A third victim said: “If Edward Bryan had admitted to what he had done I may have found it easier to deal with it. He chose to deny and chose not to remember, and only referred to me as the ginger-haired lad, even though he knew me and my family so well. I’m glad I did report it.

“My voice as an adult today calls for this type of sexual abuse to stop and save other children from becoming victims.

“I can never forgive this man for using and abusing his position of power to dominate and gain my trust only to sweep it all away for his own sexual pleasures.”

VICTIMS

Not easy for a frightened child to stop such abuse

At a young and very impressionable age, I was preyed upon and abused on numerous occasions by a Christian brother, a person who was supposed to be trusted.

Br Bryan was a well-known teacher and basketball coach and he zeroed in on me. He skilfully manipulated me. It was drilled into me that he held the key to making my dream of becoming a good basketballer a reality.

I was completely under Br Bryan’s control. And I was scared. I did not have the emotional skills to stop the abuse or change my circumstances.

Although that’s the truth, and deep down I know this, I still question it every day. Why didn’t I do something to stop it? It’s easy as a man to say I should have done these things, but as a frightened child it’s not so easy.

The impact this abuse had, and is still having, I would not wish on anyone, not even Edward Bryan. As a result, I turned to drugs at a very early age to try to help me escape my own thoughts, my overwhelming sense of shame and guilt. The pain was all-encompassing and unexplainable to anyone who hasn’t suffered.

Dark is the only way to describe such a part of my life, dark and lonely.

I felt worthless, ashamed, guilty, and hated myself for not having the courage to come forward. On a number of occasion I sat in my car outside various garda stations in Cork and just cried, unable to go in and tell what had happened to me.

Telling people you love you were abused is not easy. Telling my wife was the most upsetting thing I have done. If it wasn’t for her support and belief in me I wouldn’t be here.

I am a good person who had bad done to me, yet it was put to me that I was the bad person. It has been a huge eye-opener to see how our legal system operates, to see how victims are treated.

He put us all through it again

As a young boy, I was brought up in the tradition in which my mother and father would always tell me to respect priests, guards, teachers, and our elders.

As I progressed and got more involved in basketball I trained daily. I fell in love with the game. You could say basketball at this stage was my life at 16.

By this time I considered Brother Bryan a friend and trusted him, not only as a teacher but also as a coach. This trust was short-lived as he invited me to one-on-one training sessions, giving me a time and place where to meet.

[These sessions] progressed into me getting fully naked down and him jumping on my back. Br Bryan was nearly fully naked except for a pair of Speedos.

On my session with Br Bryan, while giving me a massage he took hold of my penis, stroked it until it became hard and brought me to ejaculation. This was in no doubt the most uncomfortable situation I have ever found myself in, but I didn’t question it because I wanted to get on further in my basketball career.

That training went on for months, twice a week. Today, as I look back, I am disgusted with myself, but most of all with him. I trusted this man, a man of authority held in high regard, but I was betrayed and violated in the most horrific way, sexually abused as a young boy.

People ask me why did you not tell anyone — your parents for instance. I can only say I was ashamed, afraid, you dare not tell of allegations against a priest, teacher or anybody. I couldn’t have told my mother, it would have broken her heart. I kept it locked away until it raised its ugly head. It has been haunting me for 23 years.

[The trial] was one of the hardest things to go through in my life. Having my wife hear what happened to me at the hands of Edward Bryan and the graphic nature of the abuse and watching [the other victims] give their evidence, the breakdowns of them and others in court.

If Edward Bryan pleaded guilty it would have saved all involved one of the most emotional times over the course of not one, but three trials, but he chose not to do so, subjecting us again and again to the most horrible memories.

Trust swept aside for his pleasures

My friendship and trust of Br Bryan was very high. Thoughts of something happening never crossed my mind. Unfortunately, he sexually abused me.

These so-called training sessions would end by Br Bryan asking me to strip down to my Speedos. He would then proceed to get on my back and wrap himself around my body from behind as I stood with my legs and arms apart. Facing the wall he would then ask me to carry out certain exercises. All of these had a repetitive motion.

These were the moments when the atmosphere in the room changed. It went from Br Bryan I thought I knew, to somebody I didn’t know. To this day I will never forget the silence that overcame the room and the only thing I could hear was the sound of him breathing.

Looking back, it was obvious he was getting sexual gratification out of this, but at the time I put myself in a state of denial.

[As an adult with family] I was determined not to let Br Bryan destroy the life I worked so hard to achieve, but since it was raised up again over two years ago it has been a very tough period in my life.

I can never forgive this man for using his position to gain my trust only to sweep it all away for his own sexual pleasures.