Courts / Wicklow / Report
Disgraced priest has prison time extended by 18 months for repeatedly raping boy
Summary
Defrocked priest Denis Nolan, aged 70, had his 13‑year prison term extended by 18 months after the Central Criminal Court found he had repeatedly raped two boys between 2001 and 2005. Nolan pleaded guilty to three counts of anal rape, one of oral rape and five counts of sexual assault of a third boy. The court noted the abuse was described as violent, aggressive and prolonged, and that Nolan had groomed the victim by offering money for gardening work, alcohol and sexual acts. He had previously been jailed for seven years in 2014 and for six years in 2017 for similar offences. Justice Karen O'Connor imposed a nine‑year sentence, suspended seven and a half years, and ordered Nolan to remain under probation supervision for five years after release. The victim reported severe physical and mental harm, and Nolan has engaged in a sex‑offender treatment programme while in custody. The court emphasised the massive breach of trust involved.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Disgraced priest has prison time extended by 18 months for repeatedly raping boy. Charges or matters: three counts of anal rape, one of oral rape and five of sexual assault of a third school boy on dates between January 2001 and December 2005. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- January 2001 Incident
- December 2005 Incident
- 1998 to 2012 Incident
- 2005 and 2006 Incident
- 2006 to 2012 Incident
- 2022-12-02 Publication
Why: He said he struggles to hold down a job because of mental health difficulties resulting from the abuse at the hands of "this monster". CNI source report
Case subjects
Background Person
Charges: three counts of anal rape, one of oral rape and five of sexual assault of a third school boy on dates between January 2001 and December 2005 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Sentencing Nolan at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Karen O'Connor said that but for the fact Nolan was currently serving a lengthy jail term, she would have imposed a sentence of nine years. In 2014, Nolan was jailed for seven years for systematically sexually abusing a boy in Co Wicklow over a five-year period beginning in 2009 when the boy was 12.
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