Courts

Former Terenure College rugby coach John McClean successfully appeals sentence for sexual abuse cases

Court of Appeal finds judge in second trial imposed disproportionately high sentences for some individual offences

Former rugby coach, John McClean leaving the Dublin District Court in 2023. Photograph: Collins Courts.

Ryan Dunne
Thu Jul 4 2024 - 18:22

Former Terenure College rugby coach John McClean has won an appeal against the severity of a four year term he received for sexually abusing 22 pupils, after the Court of Appeal found the sentence did not stand up to “rigorous analysis”.

McClean (79) has been 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.

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

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 Martin Nolan in February last year, to run consecutive to his first sentence.

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

The State had argued it would not have been fair to the 22 new people who came forward after McClean’s first sentence hearing in 2021 if the new sentence had been run concurrently.

While acknowledging that McClean’s “highly predatory” offending had caused long-lasting trauma and psychological harm to his victims, Mr Justice John Edwards said on Thursday 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.

In delivering judgement 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 of his 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.

The judge said that all the incidents were committed for the sexual gratification of the appellant

“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.

“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.”

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

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 10 and a half years, which was 18 months lower than the total ultimate sentence of 12 years imposed on McClean.

“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.

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