Woman denies ‘obsessive crush’ on school chaplain

A woman who claims she was sexually abused by a school chaplain when she was at secondary school has denied she had a “crush” on him which turned “obsessive”.

The woman, now aged 28, told the High Court on Wednesday that she met the then chaplain in his car one Christmas Eve and sexual activity took place. She was then either in transition year, or fifth year in school, and he gave her a teddy as a Christmas present.

The woman disagreed with Miriam Reilly SC, for the former chaplain, who put to her that the man will say there was no sexual relationship and her “crush” on him turned “obsessive”.

The woman was being cross-examined in her continuing civil action alleging that, between 2004 and 2007, she was repeatedly and wrongfully physically and sexually assaulted, falsely imprisoned and sexually abused and subjected to sexualised behaviour by the then Catholic chaplain, who was also a teacher in her school.

He left the priesthood some years ago.

She has sued the former priest for damages, including aggravated damages. He denies all her claims.

The case is also against the school and the local bishop who both deny any liability. The school contends it is not vicariously liable for any alleged actions of the priest and pleads the diocesan bishop is liable.

Under cross examination by Ms Reilly, the woman, referring to a school trip to Gambia, said the priest was drinking vodka and she and another student were invited into his room and played jenga.

She said she fell asleep on his bed and when she woke up, he was beside her and she and the other girl left his room at 6am.

‘Messing’

When counsel said her client would say there was no question of him slipping off with the two girls and “messing” in his room, the woman said: “I disagree with that.”

She said, as a joke, she and her friend were earlier in the chaplain’s room and put on his clothes and shaving cream and another older priest from the diocese told them to leave.

She said the chaplain sat beside her on the trip home from Gambia and told her a story of how once he came back to his house in another diocese to find a housekeeper naked on a rug. She said she thought that story and another story that he had sex with a woman in a car in the Phoenix Park were “weird”.

She said she did not know if the stories were true or not and she did not tell anybody about them.

When counsel put to her the former priest will tell the court he said no such thing, the woman said he had told her the stories.

Earlier, the woman told the court she had lived “two lives”, one where she got good academic results and a good job and a second life about which she could not tell anybody.

“He was very well liked and regarded and everybody looked up to him.”

She felt unable to tell her parents until 2010 when she returned from a trip abroad where she had visited her sisters and told them.

“It was a big secret I carried around for years.”

The case continues.