Bernard Ward jailed for sexual attacks on child

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Bernard Ward was jailed for three and a half years, with the final six months suspended, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, reported on 20 May 2019, after convictions for sexual attacks on a child. The offences occurred at Dublin’s Transcendental Meditation Centre in the 1970s.

A jury convicted Ward by majority of three indecent assaults and acquitted him of a further charge. Judge Elma Sheahan said the offending involved an abuse of trust and imposed consecutive sentences.

The court was told Ward had no previous convictions and had medical ailments. The judge said his inability to accept the verdict or show remorse indicated a lack of insight.