A man who says he still has nightmares over being sexually abused by his scout leader as a 14-year-old has resolved his High Court claim for damages against the convicted abuser and Scouting Ireland.
Now aged in his 50s, the man told the court the abuse, which occurred on an overnight camping trip in the early 1980s, changed him completely, and he has endured “psychological hell”.
His case, alleging he continues to suffer serious mental and physical health problems because of the assault by David O’Brien, ran for two days this week before out-of-court talks between the parties led to a resolution on Thursday.
The claims were denied and no admission of liability was made.
O’Brien, formerly of Benburb Street, Dublin, but now detained in prison, has been convicted for indecent assaults on 11 boys in the 1970s and 1980s. One indecent assault count, for which he was convicted in 2019, related to the plaintiff.
The 72-year-old has been in custody since October 2015 and is serving a series of prison sentences. In a 2016 Garda interview, O’Brien estimated he had abused 30 to 40 children as a scout leader, a court heard.
Scouting Ireland contested the High Court damages action over two days and filed a full defence rejecting claims it was negligent and in breach of its duty.
It denied it is liable for the plaintiff’s injuries or legally responsible for O’Brien’s actions.
It contended, among other things, that the plaintiff inexcusably delayed in bringing his legal action, which, it said, and that the case is statute barred.
The plaintiff’s senior counsel, Richard Lyons, instructed by Coleman Legal, told the court on Thursday that the case has been resolved. It will return to court next month for “implementation of the settlement”.
Patrick Leonard SC said his client, Scouting Ireland Services, has a claim for indemnity and contribution to be heard by the court. This claim is against O’Brien, who is also a respondent but who was not present in court.
Counsel said he needs to be informed about the settlement sum and the court may need to consider whether the settlement is reasonable.
The plaintiff, who is now aged in his 50s, told the High Court earlier this week the assault occurred on a camping trip when O’Brien was the only adult present. He said O’Brien directed him to sleep in his tent away from the other boys.
The man said he woke in the early hours to find his sleeping bag had been unzipped, his pyjama bottoms pulled down and O’Brien was touching his (the boy’s) genitalia.
The man said he did not understand what was happening, and he initially froze. He then moved away, causing O’Brien to pull up his own trousers and leave the tent.
He said O’Brien apologised to him later that day and warned him not to tell anybody. The man said he was “extremely” sore around his private parts for days afterwards.
He became “very reclusive” and dropped out of extra-curricular activities as he “did not want to be around other people”, he said.
Feeling “ashamed”, “terrified” and worried he would be stigmatised, he told no one about the abuse for years.
He then disclosed it to his wife, who is his “rock”. He told a doctor in 2015 and reported it to gardaí the following year because he “wanted to get justice” for himself, he said.
He said he continues to have nightmares, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. He also has significant physical health conditions that required major surgeries, and he is now “looking at a lifetime of medication”, he said .
He said he has “no doubt” O’Brien’s abuse caused him undue stress that led to his physical and mental symptoms.
Asked by his other senior counsel, Jim O’Callaghan, what he felt Scouting Ireland did wrong, the man said the organisation “did not protect me”.
“I was a child, and a predator was allowed to mind eight to 10 kids on his own. It should never have happened,” he said, adding that O’Brien had the “perfect conditions”.
Under cross-examination, he denied his conditions were caused by other stressful or traumatic experiences in his life. Asked why it took him 17 years to bring the action over O’Brien’s abuse, the man said he could not accept that this had happened to him and was “in no mental state” to think straight.
When put to him that he has been “particularly unlucky” in life, the man said he does not have nightmares about any of his other experiences.
After hearing on Thursday that a resolution has been reached, Mr Justice Tony O’Connor said he wanted to compliment the man for his manner and for giving his evidence so explicitly, which “cannot be easy”.
The judge wished him and his wife well and said he hopes that “some peace and happiness will derive” from the resolution.
He noted the civil court process is “adversarial” in nature, which is not conducive to empathy. He commended the lawyers on both sides for dealing with the case sensitively.
