Priest is cleared of schoolgirl sex charges

George Jackson

Tue, Oct 23, 2007

A 63-year-old Catholic priest was yesterday found not guilty by the direction of a judge of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old Co Donegal schoolgirl 30 years ago.

Fr Patrick Joseph Crilly, from Tobermore Road, Desertmartin, Co Derry, said after the verdict that he was delighted his "two-year-long nightmare had ended".

Last April, following a seven-day trial, Fr Crilly was found not guilty by 10-2 majority verdicts of two charges of indecently assaulting the schoolgirl in the diocesan pastoral centre in Bishop Street, Derry, when she had gone to him for counselling about becoming a nun.

However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on two similar offences which were also alleged to have occurred in the pastoral centre between April 1977 and November 1978.

At the crown court in Derry yesterday, a jury of eight men and four women was sworn to hear the re-trial on the two outstanding charges. However, prosecution barrister Stephen Fowler QC, told Judge Philip Babington that "the prosecution in this case will be offering no evidence".

Judge Babington then told the jury foreman that as no evidence was being offered "it is therefore my duty to direct you to bring in a verdict of not guilty by direction to both charges".

Fr Crilly, who had made over 20 court appearances as a result of the four indecent assault allegations, told reporters that he was "glad this awful nightmare is now over. Beyond that my mind is not able to take all of this in. I only found out this morning that no evidence would be offered. It is a great feeling of relief and it will take some time for it to sink in.

"I will now be contacting the bishop [ Dr Seamus Hegarty]. I have no comments to make about the complainant. I wish to thank my family and friends and my fellow priests for the support they've given me," he said.

The complainant who made the allegations against Fr Crilly is a 45-year-old mother of two children. She was not in court for yesterday's verdicts.

Later in a statement yesterday, the Bishop of Derry, Dr Hegarty, said he would be keeping Fr Crilly, the complainant and everyone involved in the case in his prayers.

The diocese would offer support to the complainant and Fr Crilly, as far as it was possible, he said.

Bishop Hegarty said the diocese has a robust child protection policy.

"I have said publicly in the past and I repeat again, anyone who has been abused by a priest or by anyone else should report the allegations to the police . . . Our objective in this diocese is not only to protect children but also to ensure that the church is a living and enriching environment for them," Bishop Hegarty added.

? 2007 The Irish Times