Prolific Abuser Patrick Sharkey's Crimes and School Response
Patrick Sharkey admitted to 132 charges of sexual and indecent assault involving 19 victims.
A school tutor who sexually abused boys more than 100 times was permitted to continue working with pupils despite two formal complaints, according to victims.
Patrick Sharkey, a prolific predator jailed for six and a half years in June, was employed at a County Londonderry school for over a decade following the complaints and continued to abuse more boys during that time.
One victim, Eamon McLaughlin, stated that his parents approached the school principal after he was assaulted during a weekend in Donegal.
He reported that Dermot McNally, the principal who is now deceased, discouraged his parents from contacting the police by mentioning the expense of hiring a solicitor.
The Catholic Council for Maintained Schools (CCMS), established in 1991, indicated it holds no records from Sharkey's period of employment.
Sharkey was sentenced after pleading guilty to 132 charges of sexual assault involving 19 boys over more than 20 years.
He served as a 'youth tutor' at St Joseph's High School in Coleraine from the 1970s through the 1990s, organizing extracurricular activities such as canoeing.
Five of Sharkey's victims have waived their anonymity to speak with BBC Spotlight, recounting years of manipulative behavior and traumatic assaults.
Victims' Accounts of Abuse and School Inaction
Eamon McLaughlin was among the boys abused by Sharkey at his family home in Donegal, under the guise of a weekend of outdoor activities.
Eamon was abused at age 14 during a weekend away in Donegal.
He told Spotlight that in 1982, he and another boy were sleeping beside Sharkey in the same bed at the Donegal cottage.
He recalled waking in the night to find Sharkey abusing him and managing to fight him off.
When Eamon's parents learned of the assault, they approached the school principal, Dermot McNally.
"My mother and father were wanting to talk to the police. And his response to my mother was, 'Mrs McLaughlin, do you know how much a solicitor costs?'"
"[It was] as if he was knew that they weren't of great wealth to pay for a solicitor."
Eamon believes no action was taken following his parents' report.
"Nothing. There was nothing done in the months after it, the weeks after it. There was nothing."
Spotlight also interviewed the other boy who shared the bed with Sharkey and Eamon that night.
This individual, who wishes to remain anonymous and is referred to as 'Jack', had previously been abused on other weekends.
He described waking during the night to Eamon shouting and cursing at Sharkey at the end of the bed.
"Sometime during the night I woke up and Eamon [was] standing at the end of the bed shouting at him, cursing at him.
"I knew what had happened and Eamon lay down at the side of the bed and I fell asleep again.
"The next thing I remember is just sitting at the kitchen table in the morning and Eamon telling me what, not exactly what had happened, he just said, Sharkey tried his hand with him."
Gary Farren is among four men Spotlight interviewed who were abused as boys after Eamon's parents warned the school.
'Jack' also reported that he and his parents were summoned by Dermot McNally, who confirmed what he had witnessed and similarly questioned his parents about affording a solicitor.
He too believes no action was taken following the warning.
Gary Farren, one of four men Spotlight spoke to who were abused after Eamon's parents' warning, stated:
"If those allegations had been looked into, all of this would have stopped.
"He should have been removed from those positions of trust that he was in, taken out and dealt with then, and that didn't happen."
Since Dermot McNally is deceased, his account of these events is unavailable.
The CCMS described Sharkey's crimes as appalling and a devastating breach of trust.
It added:
"Had any member of staff and most particularly a principal, received a report of sexual assault on a child in their care, the only appropriate response would have been immediate referral to the police and to the relevant statutory authorities."
Family Revelations and Legal Proceedings
Spotlight interviewed Sharkey's brother, Colm, who revealed their mother asked him on her deathbed to take action against Patrick.
"I was not the best son. I said to my mother on her deathbed, 'I apologise if I had caused you grief. I was young and stupid at the time'.
"As far as I was concerned, everybody looked at me as the black sheep of the family.
"And she said, 'No. You're not the trouble in this family. Paddy is the trouble in this family. And you know what I'm on about'.
"And she said, 'You're the only one and I want you to take him down'."
Colm Sharkey noted that his brother was regarded as "a golden boy" in his youth.
In the early 1990s, Colm became aware of his brother's attacks on young boys and assisted in reporting them to the Gardaí (Irish police).
He stated that Patrick was interviewed two or three times, and the case was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Dublin.
However, the DPP declined to proceed, citing concerns over the reliability of statements from two young boys.
More than twenty years later, Colm attended the sentencing hearing, sitting in the front row of the public gallery, closest to his brother in the dock.
The victims Spotlight interviewed were also present, supporting one another throughout years of investigations and court proceedings, traveling together from Coleraine to Donegal.
Gary Farren expressed the strength derived from this support:
"Having those guys and being able to help each other has been amazing.
"It's just made people that much stronger."
Support and Broadcast Information
If you are affected by any issues raised in this article, help is available through BBC Action Line.
Spotlight: Old Boys United will air on BBC One Northern Ireland on Tuesday 30 June at 22:40 and will also be accessible on BBC .
