2021-07-30
Former Franciscan friar (79) jailed for indecent assault on boy
Stage: Sentence
Outcome: Giving evidence at a sentence hearing earlier this month, a garda detective told Fionnualla O'Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that Keegan was sentenced to six years in jail in 1999 for gross indecency over the sexual abuse of five boys while he ran a football club between 1977 and 1982. Joseph Keegan's situation was unusual, Judge Pauline Codd said, because so long had passed since he was released following a lengthy sentence for similar crimes. "He is very frail and immobile, so the practical reality of him reoffending is unlikely," she said. "Of course at the core of rehabilitation is an acceptance of guilt – and there's no admission here." Judge Codd said aggravating factors included the breach of trust, the nature of the assaults, as well as "grooming building to the abuse and subsequent psychological pressure on the victim".