A child abuser who featured in last week's States of Fear television investigation into Irish orphanages had the review of his sentence put back to July when he appeared before Kilkenny Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Myles Brady (67), who was a childcare worker at St Joseph's Orphanage, Kilkenny, between July 1967 and June 1977, is serving four years for sexual abuse. Last June he pleaded guilty in Kilkenny to seven charges of indecently assaulting four boys at St Joseph's. Three of the boys, aged from 12 to 14, were residents of the orphanage and one was visiting friends. Two of the boys also received physical beatings. Brady was sentenced to seven concurrent terms of four years' imprisonment, and Judge Olive Buttimer said she would review sentence after 12 months. Yesterday Judge Buttimer adjourned the review to the Circuit Court in Waterford in July. She requested a probation officer's report on Brady, with psychiatric assessment and a prison governor's report.
Sgt John Tuohy, who conducted the investigation, said yesterday that he had had little contact with Brady since he was sent to the Curragh last year. Brady, who has an address at Griffith Avenue, Dublin, had written to him twice from prison. He seemed to be doing very well, and his life seemed to have changed a lot. For Brady, Mr Brendan Grogan SC told the court that his client had applied for the sex offenders' programme at Arbour Hill but no place was available. He said the programme was "woefully inadequate". Three hundred prisoners were interested but only 10 places were available.
He said his client was acutely aware of the renewed interest in his case following last week's television programme. His health had immproved in prison. He was taking regular exercise, was on reduced medication and was anxious to get back to his family.
Mr Grogan reminded Judge Buttimer that she was satisfied at the original hearing that his client was no longer a risk to young people. The offences had occurred over 20 years ago during a 10-month period. Mr Grogan said no up-to-date medical or psychiatric reports were available and they could not be obtained without a court order.