Sex abuse priest (68) escapes jail term
Added on May 12, 2005Thursday May 12th 2005
A RETIRED priest who forced a 16-year old boy into sex with him has escaped a prison sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Fr Harry Moore (68), formerly a north Dublin curate, admitted buggery and indecent assault between July 1984 and March 1985.
Judge Desmond Hogan suspended a seven-year sentence for buggery and three years for the assaults.
He said Moore had used the "power and authority of his clerical position to control and dominate a much younger person".
Garda Carol Fleming told the court that Moore was an alcoholic and a "trendy priest" who wore casual clothes, collected rock music, and spent a lot of time with young people on a local green where he befriended his victim.
The first sexual incident occurred when the victim called to Moore following an argument with his parents and after they had been drinking.
After that, Moore regularly got the boy to come back to his house, threatening otherwise to tell everyone what they had done together.
The abuse happened once or twice weekly between 1984 and 1985. At one stage the victim became aware of AIDS and asked Moore to wear a condom. Moore refused to agree to this, saying it would be "like shaking hands with a glove".
The victim, now 37 years old, reported the abuse to gardai in April 1999.
Dr Patrick Walsh, from the Granada Institute said Moore had been burdened with guilt over what he had done to this young man.
He rated Moore's progress with the Institute as "successful" and he believed him to be at a low risk of re-offending if he remained sober.
Sonya McLean
? Irish Independent