Overview
- Judge Elma Sheahan revoked Peter Kelly’s bail and remanded him in custody, scheduling sentencing for Monday, December 8.
- A jury found Kelly, 73, guilty on 28 counts involving eight boys aged about 10–13 for assaults in the late 1970s and 1980s at Spiritan-run Willow Park; he resigned in 2004 after a 2001 complaint when the DPP declined to prosecute at the time.
- Men now in their 50s detailed lifelong effects including PTSD, addiction, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, lost education and strained relationships.
- Evidence and statements described tactics such as placing boys under his black gown in the so-called “Muppet show” and “death by tickles,” with assaults occurring in school settings.
- One victim called Kelly “one cog in a machine of systematic abuse” across Willow Park and Blackrock College, while the defence said Kelly does not accept the verdict and cited deteriorating health and a lack of prior convictions.