A former priest who is currently serving a 19-year sentence for child abuse has been jailed for a further five years for the “predatory” abuse of a schoolboy over 20 years ago.
Denis Nolan (71) formerly of The Presbytery, Rathnew, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of oral rape and 36 counts of sexual assault on dates between 1994 and 2000 at locations in Dublin and Wicklow.
Nolan was aged between 42 and 48 at the time of the offending, while the victim was between 11 and 17 years old.
The court heard the abuse included inappropriate touching, fondling, masturbation and oral sex.
Nolan has been in custody since 2014 and is currently serving three sentences totalling 19 years for sexual offending against three other complainants. The court heard his earliest release date for these sentences is June 2028.
An investigating garda told Kathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, at an earlier sentence hearing that the complainant in this case was the first in time. However, this is the fourth case to come before the courts. He said Nolan's modus operandi in this case was similar to his other offending.
Imposing the sentence on Monday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the complainant was “clearly groomed and sexually exploited” by Nolan over an extensive period of time. He also noted that Nolan was “sexually exploiting others” at the same time.
He said Nolan was in a position of respect and his actions were an “egregious betrayal of that trust and status”.
Mr Justice McDermott said Nolan behaved with “rank hypocrisy” and his actions were the “opposite of his duty” in the Christian faith.
He said Nolan had “destroyed a young boy's life and prospects for the future”. He added that Nolan showed “no regard” for the “crippling damage he was inflicting on this young life”.
The judge noted Nolan's “predatory offending” involved steps to ensure his victim's silence. He said Nolan bears “full and total responsibility” in this case and the others.
He said he took into consideration the mitigating factors including Nolan's guilty plea, his expressions of remorse and his age.
He set a sentence of eight years in respect of the rape charge and three years for the sexual assault counts to run concurrently.
Mr Justice McDermott said the court had to “face the reality” of the offender's age and recognise that a sentence of eight years would see Nolan in his early 80s upon his eventual release.
Mr Justice McDermott imposed a sentence of five years in respect of the oral rape count, which is to run consecutive to his other sentences.
He also handed Nolan concurrent sentences of three years on the sexual assault charges and directed Nolan to undergo five years post-release supervision.
The court previously heard that the complainant encountered Nolan for the first time in the summer of 1994 when he was in sixth class. Nolan invited the boy to earn some money by carrying out gardening work.
In the first incident, Nolan touched the boy's thigh while they were in the sitting room of the parochial house. He told the boy “there was no point telling the grown-ups as sometimes this is what grown-ups do”.
The abuse escalated and continued over a six-year period, including after Nolan moved to Rathnew in 1998.
Personal details
The victim made a statement to gardaí in 2022. The investigating garda said the injured party knew particular identifying personal details about Nolan.
Nolan was interviewed by gardaí in June 2022. He confirmed certain information about his background and told gardaí he recalled the victim's name, but couldn't say why.
Nolan was handed a seven-year sentence in 2014 for the sexual abuse of a boy in Co Wicklow over a five-year period beginning in 2009 when the boy was 12.
He received a prison term of six years in 2017 for the rape and sexual abuse of another young boy, this time in the years 2006 to 2012 consecutive to his first sentence.
Nolan was jailed in 2022 for the rape and sexual abuse of a third young boy on dates between 2001 and 2005. The Central Criminal Court initially imposed a sentence of nine years with the final seven and a half years suspended.
This was appealed on the grounds of undue leniency by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Court of Appeal quashed this sentence and substituted a consecutive six-year term of imprisonment.
The garda read the victim's impact statement. The man said his world fell apart in 1994 at the hands of Nolan.
He said he is an “11-year-old boy in the body of a 41-year-old man” who has spent “30 years wandering around this world waiting for someone to unlock his shackles”.
He said Nolan told him “don't tell the grown ups”. However, he wonders if he had spoken out, “would I have saved other victims from him?”
He said the abuse has had a significant impact on his relationships, life and mental health.
The court was told that the Director of Public Prosecutions places the oral rape count in the most serious category for sentencing.
The investigating garda agreed with Justin McQuade BL, defending, that his client has been in custody since 2014. It was further accepted that Nolan told gardaí during interview about his background and sexuality.
The court heard Nolan had a difficult family background and entered the seminary in 1971. He was ordained in 1979.
Public apology
Mr McQuade said his client had instructed him to issue a public apology to his victim, their family, and the parishioners and people of his former parishes.
He said his client is aware that he breached their trust in the “most egregious manner” which “amounted to a betrayal of everything he stood for while working in the community”.
He said that his client grew up in a home where alcohol and corporal punishment were both features. He left the family home at 19 and joined a seminary.
He said while in custody Nolan has engaged with a sex offender treatment programme and has expressed remorse during counselling. A psychiatric report was handed to the court.
Defence counsel said his client's expressions of remorse point to his recognition of the serious nature of his offending.
He asked the court to consider the principle of totality when imposing sentence on his client, who has been in custody since 2014 and faces the possibility of dying while in custody.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
