A former teacher at a private primary school run by the Spiritan order of priests in south Dublin has been jailed for ten years for indecently assaulting eight young boys in the 1970s and 1980s.
Peter Kelly, 73, was a maths teacher at Willow Park school in Blackrock for almost 30 years. He was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of 28 counts of indecent assault.
One victim told the court that Kelly was “one cog in a machine of systematic abuse” at Willow Park, and secondary school, Blackrock College.
Kelly began teaching at Willow Park Primary school in 1977. He resigned in 2004 after an investigation following a complaint made in 2001. The DPP decided not to prosecute him at that stage.
Earlier this year, however, he went on trial at the Circuit Criminal Court charged with 28 counts of indecent assault against eight boys.
All the boys were aged around ten to 13 years old when the assaults took place. Some of the offences took place in the classroom, some in changing rooms.
Kelly denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury last month. The court heard he does not accept the jury’s verdicts.
Judge Elma Sheahan said she hoped the sentencing would bring some closure to the victims.