Michael Shine groped boy’s ‘privates’ during examination, court told

A retired surgeon groped and stroked the “privates” of a teenager who he had operated on weeks earlier, a jury has heard.

Michael Shine (86), of Ballsbridge, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 13 charges of indecent assault allegedly committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and at private clinics in the town.

A man told Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, that he was 13 when Mr Shine performed surgery on his appendix at the hospital in 1971.

The man said he attended an appointment with Mr Shine around a week after being discharged from hospital at Lawrence Street Clinic in Drogheda. He said his father wanted to go into the examination room with him but was prevented from doing so by Mr Shine.

He said Mr Shine asked him to pull up his shirt and jumper and to loosen his trousers while he was lying down. He said Mr Shine briefly pressed around the wound on his side with his hands.

The man said that Mr Shine then moved further down and felt his “privates”, fondling his testicles and stroking his penis.

He said he asked why Mr Shine was doing this and was told that the doctor needed to check that nothing was damaged.

“I got out of there are quick as I could,” the man said.

Embarrassed

He said he attended a second appointment at the clinic around two weeks later after his stitches had been removed. He said Mr Shine did not pay much attention to his wound and again fondled his testicles and stroked his penis. He said he felt very embarrassed and could not wait to get out of there.

The man told Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that when he heard about clerical abuse years later it reminded him or what had happened. He agreed that he never told anyone about the alleged offences until he saw publicity in the media.

“I was glad that I wasn’t the only one, for 38 years I thought I was the only one,” the man said.

Another man told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that Mr Shine performed surgery on his testicles in 1975 when he was aged 13 and that he attended a follow-up appointment at Fair Street Clinic in Drogheda some four weeks later.

The man said his father waited outside the examination room and that Mr Shine asked him to lay down on a couch. He said that Mr Shine pulled his trousers and underwear down to his knees and placed a paper towel on his exposed stomach.

He said that Mr Shine first examined his testicles and then took his penis in his hand and began to masturbate it. He said that this continued for around 10 to 15 minutes. The man said he was “somewhat taken aback” afterwards and he was unsure whether what happened had been a normal part of the examination.

The trial continues.