Former Willow Park teacher jailed for 10 years for assaults on eight boys

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

Former Willow Park primary school teacher Peter Kelly was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for indecently assaulting eight boys. A jury had convicted him of 28 counts, and Judge Elma Sheahan said there was no basis to suspend any part of the term because Kelly did not accept the verdicts.

In sentencing, the judge cited the repeated offending, Kelly’s position of trust, the boys’ vulnerability and the number of children involved as aggravating factors. She also considered his age, ill health and lack of previous convictions. The court heard that the offences occurred at the school in the 1970s and 1980s, when the complainants were aged between 10 and 13.