A teacher who was on trial accused of sexually abusing a male student 38 years ago has been found guilty of the charges against her.READ MORE:Teacher accused of indecent assault of male student claims he said he was 'in love' with her
The complainant in the case – now a man in his fifties – told the court that seeing his own children reach the age he was at the time of the incidents spurred him to go to gardaí, along with other unrelated high-profile cases. He said he was also concerned to see McSherry O'Connor was still teaching in Donegal.
The complainant told the trial that it was on this holiday that the first sexual encounters occurred. He said McSherry O'Connor rubbed her breasts against him at the pool, fondled him and later performed oral sex on him in her apartment. He said she also gave him alcohol, which was the first time he got drunk.
“These are difficult things for a man in his fifties to say,” Mr McCormack said. “Why would he say these things?” He said that despite a robust cross-examination from defence counsel, the man “did not waver” in his allegations. “Because is telling you the truth. This is a true, accurate and consistent version of events and I'm suggesting you can return verdicts of guilt on both charges before the court, and you can do so with a clear conscience.”
The trial heard that when interviewed by gardaí, McSherry O’Connor said she remembered the boy as being “earnest, intense and driven”.