Teacher guilty of abusing her male student in 1980s

A woman has been found guilty of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in the 1980s following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63, of Donegal Town, was convicted on two counts of indecent assault by majority jury verdict after 11 hours of deliberation. The offences allegedly occurred between June and September 1985 while she worked as a student teacher at a Dublin secondary school. The complainant, now in his fifties, told the court the abuse occurred during tutoring sessions at his home and on a family holiday to Spain. McSherry O'Connor, who had pleaded not guilty, maintained she never engaged in sexual conduct with the boy. Judge Elma Sheahan remanded her on continuing bail pending sentencing on 8 November 2023.