Former judge Gerard O’Brien fails in appeal against conviction for attempted rape and sexual abuse of six men

Gerard O’Brien, 61, of Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury in December 2023 of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault involving six victims.

He appealed against the convictions, arguing that the trial judge’s instructions to the jury were confusing and unfairly favoured the prosecution case.

The Court of Appeal rejected the arguments on Friday, finding that the jury had been properly directed and that no error of law or misdirection had occurred. During the trial, O’Brien admitted he had initially lied to gardaí when questioned about the allegations, saying he had acted out of shame and panic.

“The idea of being charged with a sexual assault frightened me beyond reason. I went into a sort of blind panic about it all,” he said.

He later provided statements accepting sexual activity with two complainants, but claimed it had been consensual. He also admitted performing oral sex on another complainant, but said he had mistakenly believed the young man consented.

O’Brien acknowledged during evidence that having students at his home and in his bed was “inappropriate” and “should not have happened”.

His senior counsel, Hugh Hartnett, argued that comments made by the trial judge during the jury charge had created the impression that the judge held a view on the allegations.

However, Ms Justice Tara Burns, delivering the appeal court’s judgment, said the suggestion that the charge was “imbalanced” or legally incorrect was rejected.

“The trial judge made it clear, as he did on several occasions throughout his charge, that decisions on all factual matters, together with the outcome of the trial, fell within the remit of the jury and that he had no role whatsoever in this regard,” she said.

The court also rejected an argument that the judge had undermined O’Brien’s evidence by telling jurors not to enter a “parallel universe of make-believe”.

Ms Justice Burns said the comments applied to evidence from all witnesses and were not directed solely at O’Brien.

She also dismissed challenges over the decision to try the six complainants’ allegations together, finding that the joint indictment did not prejudice the defence.

The offences occurred in Dublin between March 1991 and November 1997, when O’Brien was aged between 27 and 33 and worked as a teacher at CBC Monkstown. Four of the victims were students or former students, and the men were aged between 17 and 24 at the time.

O’Brien resigned as a Circuit Court judge, having been appointed in 2015, after the allegations emerged. He was jailed for four years in June 2024.

Sentencing him, Mr Justice Alexander Owens said O’Brien was “unsuitable to hold office” and had shown an attitude that was “unrealistic” and “self-indulgent”.