2,143 entries for Witness Testimony

This section summarises the evidence provided by witnesses of sexual abuse ranging from contact sexual abuse including rape and associated physical violence to non-contact abuse such as enforced nakedness and voyeurism. Witnesses were generally distressed when describing their experiences of sexual abuse. They spoke in as much or as little detail as they wished. Some witnesses provided detailed and disturbing accounts of sexual abuse, other accounts were sufficient to clarify the acute or chronic nature of both contact and non-contact sexual abuse. A priest sexually abused me. ... It’s not very easy to talk about it.... There is things there but I don’t know how to get them out. I’d love to be able to come out with them, but I just can’t.... There’s no easy way of saying things like that.

Sexual abuse was reported to have occurred mainly in private and occasionally in the company of other residents and staff members. Witnesses reported being sexually abused in many locations, including: dormitories, sleeping quarters and offices of staff members, cloakrooms, churches, sacristies, classrooms, workshops, kitchens, infirmaries, showers, toilets, outside sheds and farm buildings, fields, recreation areas, motor vehicles, private homes, commercial premises, and other off-site locations. Witnesses stated that particular areas of activity such as kitchens, farmyards, infirmaries and music rooms provided opportunities for staff members to isolate residents without fear of disturbance.

Sexual abuse was also reported to occur off-site when residents were taken out of the institution for holidays, outings or work placements, by individuals who sexually abused them. Witnesses reported that sexual abuse was often preceded by physical violence that they believed was intended as an intimidating threat. Others described receiving special attention and experiencing friendly encounters over periods of time that they welcomed, as many of them experienced no other kindness or affection, an example of which is described below: One night I was lying in bed and I was woke up by ...(Br X)... he said “I’m not going to harm you or anything, don’t be afraid”. At that time I thought he just wanted to chat, I thought it was a normal thing. The next thing he sat on my bed, he said “don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hit you”. The next thing he took hold of my hand, put my hand on his privates, I took my hand away and with that he slapped me, he slapped me quite a few times and I was crying and he left. He came back later, he opened his trousers and took my hand and put it on his privates, out of total fear I obeyed. He instructed me in what to do and that amounted to masturbation and that continued over the time I was there.

Witnesses repeatedly stated that co-residents who had no family contact were the most common victims of sexual abuse. They referred to these co-residents as orphans and ‘conventers’ and many witnesses remarked that they considered themselves lucky not to be selected for sexual abuse. There were 2 different types of boys, the outsiders who had parents and the orphans. The orphans were always on the lookout for danger, learning to survive. They had no one to look out for them. It was a constant struggle to survive, you would make no eye contact, you would keep your eyes down in order to avoid punishment. You were thinking “there’s no way out”. You blamed yourself. • Anytime he got the opportunity he got access, he ...(Br X)... used to masturbate himself over me and make me do the same to him. It stared when I was 10 and a half or 11 and it went on ’til I was 14. He used to swamp me with gifts, sweets, money. He said it was our secret. He stopped me going to my godparents, he was afraid I would tell. It was mainly the orphans who were abused bad, they had no one to turn to. I had no one. I was 2 years there before I ever went out. There was no one to tell.

There were 88 witness reports of sexual abuse and associated physical violence, 15 of these reports related to one School. Many of the reports heard were of witnesses being beaten while their abusers masturbated, or of the witnesses being beaten on their bare buttocks while they were held against the abusers’ genitals. Witnesses described physical abuse perpetrated in the context of sexual abuse as serving to both enforce compliance with the sexual assault and as a means of securing the silence of the witness concerned. Witnesses who reported being sexually abused, including being anally raped, named Brothers about whom the Committee heard a number of reports of sexual abuse: He was a very bad man, a very dirty man, he used to keep me back after school and do things to me, not very nice things. He used to lock the doors and put books up against the window, tell me to take off my clothes. He touched me, made me touch him, then beat me so that I wouldn’t tell anyone. He made me clean up after him. He hurt me very badly, forced himself on me. Then, when you’d go to school next day you’d wonder who is it going to be today? ... Other boys were kept back too. • Br ...X... came and pulled me from my bed into his bedroom, he turned his wireless up to full volume and said “take that nightshirt off, you can scream now as much as you like, you little bastard”. He masturbated himself with his left hand while he was hitting me with his strap.... He just brought the strap down on me and kicked me with his boots on, that is all he was wearing.... He threatened that if I told anyone the same would happen again. • One particular morning he ...(Br X)... put me up against the wall because I was left handed, he put me hands up against the wall like that ...indicated arms stretched above head... he started flogging me with the leather strap. This particular session I lost all control and soiled myself, he took me by the ear straight out, around to the showers. He wanted me to strip off and get into the shower, the water was freezing. ... It’s very hard for me to tell this ... but I want to tell it anyway ... I was crouched down in the corner, he grabbed me by the hair into the cubicle, dragged me up off the floor, on the lats you know, lats for the seats and he buggered me again, and told me to shut up, I was screaming, I was in sheer pain you know. He had done it before in my bed and he made me bleed, he tore the skin you know. It could be once a week and then he mightn’t come near you for a month. It lasted for all the years I was there.

Sexual abuse associated with violence was also reported to be accompanied at times by serious threats of physical harm, including risk to life, for the perceived purpose of instilling fear and enforcing compliance. For example, witnesses reported being threatened that if they ever told anyone what happened to them they would be ‘drowned in the slurry pit’, ‘sent to a worse place’, ‘killed’ or in one instance, ‘cut up and buried in a bag in the bog’. This latter threat was issued by a lay ancillary worker who the witness reported challenged him with a knife.

Witnesses reported being beaten or exposed to harsh treatment by co-residents in advance of sexual abuse episodes and made frequent reports of severe beatings culminating in a violent sexual assault. The damage that they, boys, done to boys was unbelievable, what was going on. They ...(co-residents)... were after beating them so much ... they were beaten and beaten until they done it ...(sexual abuse).... They were beaten into submission.

In relation to one School, four witnesses gave detailed accounts of sexual abuse, including rape in all instances, by two or more Brothers and on one occasion along with an older resident. A witness from the second School, from which there were several reports, described being raped by three Brothers: ‘I was brought to the infirmary...they held me over the bed, they were animals....They penetrated me, I was bleeding’. Another witness reported he was abused twice weekly on particular days by two Brothers in the toilets off the dormitory: One Brother kept watch while the other abused me ...(sexually)... then they changed over. Every time it ended with a severe beating. When I told the priest in Confession, he called me a liar. I never spoke about it again. • I would have to go into his ...(Br X’s)... room every time he wanted. You’d get a hiding if you didn’t, and he’d make me do it ...(masturbate)... to him. One night I didn’t ...(masturbate him)... and there was another Brother there who held me down and they hit me with a hurley and they burst my fingers ...displayed scar....

Witnesses reported that sexual abuse was frequently preceded by the abuser’s attempts to win their trust by expressing concern for their welfare or giving them small treats such as comic books, extra blankets, chocolates or fruit. ‘On your birthday you got a bottle of orange but you would have to ... you had to go up to the Brother and sit on their lap....’ Witnesses also reported being taken away from the School for outings and being sexually abused while they were out. This Brother used to follow the band around, Br ...X... introduced me to him. He wasn’t from our School, he was a fully fledged Brother from another School. He got friendly with me, over friendly you know, he used to take me out. He took me to ...named town... he told them ...(Brothers)... he was going to stay with his sister. He booked us into a hotel, and he touched me and things, rubbing and kissing me, he assaulted me, he did not have anal sex. I did not know anything about sex. I felt I had done something wrong. ... I went to Confession about it and the priest said “don’t worry about it” and he gave me a prayer to say as penance. I thought he would do something about it, you know, that he would put a stop to it, but nothing happened. • Br ...X... he had a kind way with him and you would be kinda looked after, if other Brothers were at you he would have a go at them. ... One day he called me into this little room ... he was saying to me “you are doing very well here, you are really coming along very well”. After a while he said “you are such a good looking boy you know, I have plans for you, we are going on a trip...”.. I thought “Well, he was just being nice”. ... Well after a while he took my hand and he placed it on his private parts you know, so he said to me “don’t be afraid”, things like that and at the same time I was shaking, and as he was talking he kept on rubbing my hand up and down his privates. The next thing was, he was opening his buttons, his trousers, you know ... and he told me to ...crying... take down my trousers ...crying...witness described anal rape....

A number of witnesses reported being sexually abused while working in the kitchens where access to extra food served as an inducement, prior to being sexually abused. The kitchen was identified as a location for sexual abuse due to its relative isolation from the rest of the School. As previously reported the kitchens in some Schools were described as the domain of a particular Brother with few intrusions by either staff or residents. I was sexually abused by a Brother, he used to fondle me, he used to masturbate himself over me, it happened mainly when I was helping in the kitchen, in a room at the back. The sexual abuse always happened outside the sight of everybody.

Staff whose sleeping quarters were adjacent to the dormitories were reported to employ various excuses for having residents in their rooms. Witnesses reported being sent to the priests’ or Brothers’ rooms to light fires, make beds, tidy up or clean the rooms. At times witnesses reported being invited to listen to the radio or music in a Brother or priest’s bedroom as a special treat. At other times, witnesses remarked that their expressed interest in some topic or sport provided the Brother or priest with the opportunity to engage them on an individual basis, as a prelude to inappropriate sexual contact. I was playing basketball one day and Br ...X... came over to me and said to me, says he “I have some sweets for you upstairs...”. ...(He told me)... to come up to his room. I genuinely thought I was going to get some sweets. He went into his room and came out naked, he told me take off my clothes, he rubbed some oil on me and he buggered me, I was in a bad way after that. He took me into his room and locked the door, and it was oral sex and all of that. ... I don’t like talking about it.

Witnesses reported that in some Schools residents who were selected for sexual abuse by religious staff at times received special treatment. A number of witnesses who were sexually abused described being known as ‘specials’ of a staff member and reported that being selected as ‘special’ protected them from physical abuse, to some extent. They described the associated disadvantages attached to this position, particularly being isolated from their peer group whom they believed did not understand the price they were paying for perceived privileges. A small number of witnesses in such circumstances acknowledged having conflicted feelings about being sexually abused, especially in situations where the sexual abuse was not associated with violence. Br ...X... he was brutal, he was a pig. ... They would call him a paedophile nowadays, he had his favourites, we called them “oh that’s so and so’s ...(pet)...”. He ...(Br X)... would be holding this little fella’s hand and that kinda thing. I was not sexually abused, I’d be telling a lie if I said I was, but I saw them. Voyeurism and other non-contact abuse

Fifteen (15) witnesses reported being questioned and interrogated in different ways about their sexual activity and awareness of sexual matters. Witnesses from two Schools reported that these interrogations were conducted in a methodical manner and focused on sexual activity between residents. Residents and witnesses were subsequently punished as a result of what was told. Witnesses from two Schools also described being required to keep a diary of their sexual thoughts that they had to give one of the Brothers to read and that they were then questioned about. Witnesses described being distressed by the interventions and that ‘you never knew what they wanted’. Other witnesses reported being questioned about their contact with girls or boys prior to admission or during holidays that they believed was, at times, a means of determining how susceptible they may be to allowing sexually inappropriate behaviour. Such interrogations were also described as opportunities for inappropriate sexual talk. He ...(Br X)... came into the recreation hall one night and said “come here a minute” and brought me up to his room. He started talking about something and then he started on sex, he started talking about sex. He asked me “have you ever had sex with a girl?” I said “no”, he kept at me and at me saying “you did, you did, come on tell me the truth...”. He threatened and he said “I’ll bring up Br ...Y...”. He was real evil ... sometimes you couldn’t sit down you, would be so sore after a beating. So I said to myself I’ll have to say yes. So I said “yes”, and he said “how do you do it?” and I haven’t a clue....

Two hundred and forty six (246) lay and religious staff and others were reported as sexual abusers by male witnesses. One or more reports of sexual abuse were made against each of those identified as sexual abusers. Witnesses identified 186 perpetrators of sexual abuse by name, 110 of whom were also named by witnesses as physically abusive. A further 60 unnamed perpetrators were identified by their position or occupation. It is possible that there is some overlap between those identified by name and those who were not named. The abusers’ identity was often protected by the reported practice of abusing residents at night when ‘you only saw the cloak’. Witnesses gave accounts of being warned not to turn around as they were being raped, which they believed was to preclude them from identifying the abuser. He told me to lean over the desk and pull my pants down. I didn’t know what he was going to do ...crying.... I felt something rubbing up and down against my backside. I tried to look around but the way he had me pinned down on the desk I couldn’t move, and the next thing I felt this sharp pain ... it was so severe. I never felt anything like it.... After he finished he told me “you be a good boy now go out and play with the other boys” and after that I decide that I had to get out of here, and I absconded and I was brought back and I got another beating.

Witnesses reported being sexually abused by 151 male and four female religious staff in 15 Schools where sexual abuse was reported. Five (5) witnesses also reported that they were sexually abused by external clergy and Brothers who were visiting the Schools or others to whom witnesses were sent to work. As previously stated external clergy included priests and others of higher rank. These visiting religious were described as either friendly with religious staff or visiting the School in a pastoral role. There were also four reports of sexual abuse by either a clerical student or visiting members of the congregation in relation to four other Schools. In all but one instance sexual abuse by external clergy and Brothers were described as isolated occurrences. The forms of sexual abuse reported included anal rape, oral/genital contact, masturbation, kissing, inappropriate fondling, indecent exposure and voyeurism. I always thought there was someone coming for me. It’s only when I think back now they ...(Brothers)... were so clever. I don’t know if you get what I’m saying to you, with regards paedophilia if you know what I mean, they had a knack of it. ...The sexual abuse or the physical abuse wouldn’t start straight away, but don’t forget you’re 11 years of age, you’re lonely, you have nobody. The next thing the Brother would put his arms around you or he would be nice to you. It was somebody to hold on to, then after a while the sexual abuse would start. ... To this day it kills me, I tried to please them. I tried to please them for a hug, somebody to put their arms around you. You were constantly told "nobody wants you, you’re not wanted”.... He’d bring you into a room and put the arm around you and giving you a sweet and then hands would drop down and eventually he would bugger you. I thought I was a bad boy and that ...(sexual abuse)... was your punishment. When they’d get fed up with you they would start hitting you. After the sexual act you would get a box in the mouth off him.... It started after 2 weeks there, new comers were like new meat.