Chapter 8 — Letterfrack

Sexual abuse in Letterfrack

The witness said that he knew that the same was happening to other boys, because of the way Br Dax behaved towards them, which would now be called grooming: Yes, I knew how he behaved with me and I could see the way he was behaving with them, and it was identical ... “Come and help me with the chickens”, that was regarded as a little perk. Or “let’s go down to the orchard, I want to get some apples. I am going to make apple jam”, or something or other. You knew damn well he wasn’t making apple jam. The man couldn’t boil an egg. I done most of the bloody cooking, but you knew, you seen all the signs.

He said that the boys reacted in different ways: some went very quiet, whilst others became aggressive, but the change in them was very noticeable. He identified two individuals whom he was convinced Br Dax was abusing, although they never said anything to him.

He was cross-examined on his assertion that the Congregation knew about Br Dax’s activities: To say that they didn’t know would be to say that the sun doesn’t shine tomorrow because in a school like that, there is 120 boys, they all know what is going on. Everyone knew what was going on, there were very few that didn’t know, the only thing was we didn’t speak about it because we were ashamed of it. I am still ashamed of it, I should have cut his bloody throat. He didn’t know? Br Guillaume didn’t know? I sat down and sobbed my heart out, that man knew and he never answered. He should have turned around and said to me “what was going on, why are you crying?” but what did he do he continued on with the shower and sent me up to dry off – he didn’t know? ... If I was to stand in front of my maker tomorrow I would have the same position, they knew what went on. Some of them were doing it, some of them were covering it ... The ones that were covering are twice as guilty as the ones that didn’t because they could have stopped it.

Counsel for Br Dax stated that he had no questions for the complainant. Br Dax was asked during his own evidence whether he had any recollection of the complainant and replied that he did not, even though the complainant was one of the individuals in respect of whom he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing. In his response statement, Br Dax adopted a Garda Statement in which he stated that he remembered the complainant and that he worked in the kitchen. He accepted that he would have caught and pulled him towards him on several occasions, and that he would have touched his private parts and ejaculated at the same time. He also accepted the allegation that he came up behind the complainant while the latter was cleaning the kitchen, undressed him and raped him. He could not recall how often this type of activity occurred but he accepted that it did happen on several occasions, either in the kitchen or the storeroom. The complainant was about 15 at the time. He said that he was ‘deeply sorry for the hurt caused and I apologise’.

Another witness who gave evidence was also one of the individuals Br Dax admitted sexually abusing. Br Dax pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting this witness. The witness’s evidence was that the abuse occurred during milking time, but this was strongly disputed by the Congregation in cross-examination who pointed out that the records proved that Br Dax did not have farming duties, and that his duties in the kitchen would have made it impossible for him to have been around the milking sheds during milking. Br Dax did not dispute the witness’s evidence at the hearing, and the issue of whether Br Dax had duties other than the kitchen was raised only by the Congregation.

The evidence of this witness was that Br Dax would ask him to stay behind after the milking was done. He said that Br Dax started kissing and fondling him and then he had to ‘touch him up’. This happened about three times a week until he was released. On one occasion, the witness attempted to stop Br Dax by cutting himself with a knife. Br Dax panicked and, when the Resident Manager asked what happened, he told him that the witness had slipped. The witness said that, following his discharge from Letterfrack, Br Dax visited him at home and attempted to abuse him there but he was able to resist.

During Br Dax’s own hearing before the Committee, he stated that he was in charge of the poultry farm and went there daily to attend the chickens and hens. He also stated that he abused boys in the poultry shed, as he was fairly safe from detection there.

He said that he did not have anything to do with the cows or sheep, but the poultry operation was in the same area and boys would occasionally come after their milking duties to help him.

Br Dax was not questioned by the Congregation on this issue at his hearing.

The Congregation in its final Submission to the Investigation Committee said that the conviction of Br Dax spoke for itself and they did not wish to make any submissions on the extent of the sexual abuse committed by him. They did, however, express reservations about the evidence of this complainant, which they believed showed how a false allegation could be made on the basis of information obtained from sources other than the witness’s own experience.

The Congregation maintained this position even after it heard the evidence of Br Dax and in circumstances where it did not examine him on the extent of his duties outside of the kitchen. It appears that the Congregation relied on their own records to dispute the evidence of this complainant, even when those records were disproved by the respondent himself.

Another complainant who was resident for two years in the early 1960s was also one of the individuals Br Dax admitted sexually abusing. Br Dax pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting this man. The complainant gave evidence that he worked in the kitchen and that Br Dax fondled him and pushed up against him while masturbating himself. The abuse was carried out by Br Dax under the guise of his wiping something off the complainant’s ‘cowman’s coat’, during which time Br Dax pushed up against him and fondled his chest and grabbed his shoulders and masturbated. The boys would put on this coat when requested by Br Dax to fetch milk. The complainant stated that putting on the coat ‘meant at the time he wanted to masturbate’.

Another ex-resident, who was there in the late 1960s and who worked in the kitchen, said that Br Dax was prone to violent mood swings, one moment he would be nice and give the boys cake and sweets, the next he would beat them unmercifully. He recalled one incident of sexual abuse which occurred in the back kitchen, where Br Dax attempted to abuse him but which the complainant fought off by throwing boiling water at him.

Counsel for Br Dax did not ask any questions of this witness. In his response to the Committee he adopted his Garda Statement in which he stated, ‘I honestly can’t remember the incident ... or the boy himself’.

Another man who worked in the kitchen as a tea boy in the late 1960s said that, when everybody was gone from the refectory, the tea boys would wash the pots before leaving. On one occasion, Br Dax asked him to stay back after everybody else had left. Br Dax calmly poured a cup of tea, then took his penis out and forced the boy to give him oral sex: He sat me down, made me a cup of tea, well, poured a cup of tea, and then he took his penis out ... And he pushed my head down on to his lap, and I had to give him oral sex ... I got back up, sat up straight and he started opening my trousers then, but I wouldn’t, so I resisted him. He got angry with me then and he smacked me with a teapot. There was a teapot and he just hit me on the head.