Ex-Terenure College rugby coach has sentence for abusing 22 pupils reduced

Former Terenure College rugby coach John McClean will now serve a reduced sentence for sexually abusing 22 pupils, after the Court of Appeal found that the “global” structure imposed on him at his second sentencing hearing did not stand up to “rigorous analysis”.

McClean (79) was convicted of sexually abusing a total of 45 pupils – the highest number of complainants in a case before the Irish courts – over a period of more than 20 years but had complained that the decision by Judge Martin Nolan to impose a sentence of four years consecutive to a previous eight-year prison term was too severe.

The State had countered that 22 new people came forward after McClean’s first sentence hearing in 2021 and asked if it would have been fair and just to them if the new sentence had been run concurrently.

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“It would not have been a reflection of their suffering, of their lifelong memories,” Paul Murray SC had argued.

After McClean was first sentenced in 2021, survivors had encouraged any other victims to come forward. Victims described how McClean, nicknamed ‘Doc’, would call boys into the physio room under the pretext of treating sports injuries, before sexually assaulting them. Other men told of how McClean would pull them under his teaching gown and use his hands like “talons” while he abused them.

McClean left the school in 1996 after certain allegations were made and he took up a role coaching rugby with UCD.

While acknowledging that McClean’s “highly predatory” offending had caused long-lasting trauma and psychological harm to his victims, Mr Justice John Edwards today said that by treating all offences as meriting the same level of punishment, Judge Nolan had imposed disproportionately high sentences for some individual offences.

He said the court would quash the sentence imposed by Judge Nolan in February 2023 and re-sentence McClean to a global term of 10 and a half years.

McClean, of Casimir Avenue, Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6, was initially given an eight-year sentence in 2021 for abusing 23 pupils at the south Dublin school. He then pleaded guilty to abusing 22 more boys at the college between 1971 and 1992 and was given a four-year sentence by Judge Nolan in February last year, to run consecutive to his first sentence.

Judge Nolan commented at the time that he would have imposed a longer sentence on McClean if the defendant was not already serving a substantial prison term.

Most of the charges are of indecent assault, while two are of sexual assault which were carried out against a student in the 1990s.

In delivering judgement today on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Edwards said that Judge Nolan was not to be criticised for adopting a global sentencing approach in the case, however some legitimate issues had been raised both as to the sentencing judge’s methodology and the appropriateness of the final sentence.

He said that the court had to consider the likely position if McClean had been sentenced at the same time for all 45 offences, as there were 23 victims for which he had been originally sentenced and then an additional 22 victims.

While noting that there were some differences in the nature of the offending involving different victims, Mr Justice Edwards said that there were no substantial differences, as the general nature of the offending was predatory, frequently including inappropriate touching, often of the victim’s genitals.

There was a single reported occasion of digital penetration of a victim’s anus, numerous occasions of groping, dry humping, unwelcome embraces in which the appellant’s erect penis could be felt, and the administration of spanking or corporal punishment to the naked buttocks of victims, using 12” rulers spread out like a fan.

The judge said that all the incidents were committed for the sexual gratification of the appellant, with sometimes masturbatory conduct engaged in during certain instances.

“While in some instances the abuse was opportunistic, in most instances there was grooming or systemic premeditated abuse,” said Mr Justice Edwards, adding that many locations were clearly chosen to easily facilitate abuse, such as windowless clubhouse rooms or the appellant’s private office. On some occasions, the abuse was carried out in public when others were not around, such as empty corridors, or during classes while he was teaching but his abuse could be obscured from view by furniture or by his academic robe.

“In all instances, the boys were very young, and they were vulnerable because of their age and immaturity,” said Mr Justice Edwards, noting the unequal power dynamic between McClean and the students.

“As a teacher and sports coach he was in a position of considerable dominion over them. Accordingly, there was a massive breach of trust.”

Mr Justice Edwards went on to say that there was very significant harm done to the victims, for while there was little physical harm, there was very significant trauma and psychological harm caused, with the residual effects long lasting and some persisting to this day.

“Overwhelmingly, the appellant’s offending was not once off, but was rather repetitive and highly predatory, and abusive of his position and of the trust reposed in him,” said Mr Justice Edwards.

The judge went on to say that the optimum way to deal with the matter was to determine a proportionate headline sentence appropriate to the totality of the offending. He said the appropriate global headline sentence would have to be between 14 and 16 years.

The principal mitigating factors were the guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity, some cooperation in the form of admissions, McClean’s remorse and expression of apology, and some prosocial activities in his earlier life. Mr Justice Edwards said that taking all this into account, the appellant was entitled to a 25-33 per cent discount, resulting in a sentence of between nine and 12 years.

After factoring in McClean’s advanced age and state of health, Mr Justice Edwards said that the ultimate global sentence should be between eight and a half and ten and a half years, which was 18 months lower than the total ultimate sentence of 12 years imposed on the appellant.

“We therefore find that the sentencing judge erred in principle in that respect,” said Mr Justice Edwards, adding that the judge’s decision not to adopt a semi-structured and staged approach to sentencing meant that the reasons behind his decisions lacked transparency and his nominated global sentence did not stand up to rigorous analysis.

He said that by treating all offences as meriting the same level of punishment regardless of when they were committed, the sentencing judge had imposed disproportionately high sentences for some individual offences.

Quashing the sentence imposed in February 2023, Mr Justice Edwards said that the Court of Appeal would resentence McClean to a global sentence of 10 and a half years in prison for all 45 offences.