A FORMER garda was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a US student and causing criminal damage to a house in Dalkey, Co Dublin, last year. Evidence was given that he was drunk at the time and that as a boy he had been sexually abused by an older male cousin.

David M. Keirns (33) single, who pleaded guilty, was jailed for two years for sexual abuse, three years for causing damage, and given two sixmonth sentences for common assault on two other women.

Judge Cyril Kelly directed that the sentences should run concurrently and the balances would be suspended from March 11th, 1998, depending on reports from the prison authorities.

Keirns's "bizarre behaviour", as it was described in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, on the night of June 25th, 1996, when he was very drunk, had its roots in the sexual abuse he suffered when he was aged nine to 10, the court was told.

Dr Brian McCaffrey said Keirns had been severely traumatised by the abuse and his "grossly abnormal behaviour" on June 26th was a common enough reaction to certain stimuli and reminders.

Dr McCaffrey said Keirns had no craving for alcohol. His heavy binge drinking was a direct result of his suppression of the abuse.

The court had heard that after a heavy drinking bout with a US policeman he had befriended, Keirns's mood suddenly changed and he began wandering from room to room in the house, while repeating "Where is he? Where is he?"

Evidence was given by his aunt Ms Una Tatney, of similar behaviour by him in 1987 when he was again drunk and ran "absolutely crazed" in her house looking for some person before he revealed for the first time what had happened to him years before.

He resigned from the Garda Siochana in September 1996 when told he was being charged with the offences. Later he went to South Africa and returned voluntarily to Ireland last March after getting a court order preventing the South African authorities from forcibly repatriating him.

Judge Kelly said the solidarity shown by his family was impressive and evidence for him had been given by a former Garda superintendent as well as by Insp Barnes Murphy.

Det Insp Eamonn O'Reilly told Mr George Birmingham BL, prosecuting, the US couple were staying at the Dalkey house where Keirns visited them. Two women American students lived on the top floor of the three story building.

When Keirns and the US policeman returned drunk to the house, Keirns had to help the man's wife put him to bed. The girls also retired.

Keirns demeanour then became "somewhat bizarre", said Det Insp O'Reilly. He wanted to go up to the girls. He then went into the policeman's room opening drawers and searching wardrobes and cases. The man slept through all this.

Det Insp O'Reilly said he went to the top floor. He pulled the, duvet off one girl's bed and she pulled it back again. The second girl was frightened.

The man's wife and the two girls took refuge in one room and barricaded it to stop Keirns entering.

When he went downstairs again, the woman followed to give him; the key in the hope he would leave but the door couldn't be opened. He picked up a vase, broke it and told the woman he was going to kill her. She tried to use the phone to get help but it wasn't working.

Det Insp O'Reilly said Keirns came upstairs again with a gin bottle in one hand and a water heater in the other. He broke the water heater by smashing it on the wall and cut his hand.

He pulled one of the girl's tops up and smeared his blood on her back. He then pulled off her top, leaving her naked from the waist up, and tried to get her pyjama bottom off but she escaped. She ran to a neighbour's house and had the Garda called.

Keirns came upstairs again and grabbed the second girl by her T shirt. A struggle ensued between him, the girl and the policeman's wife. The girl fell back on some of the glass from the smashed water heater and cut herself. The two women then got out of the house.

Two gardai arrived on the scene first but called for more assistance. Eventually 10 to 12 gardai arrived and tried to restrain him.

Eventually, it transpired he thought he was in a house of another family friend, said Det Insp O'Reilly. Keirns was eventually taken into custody.

Insp Barnes Murphy, who was called as a defence witness by Tom O'Connell BL, said Keirns had no negative reports in his 13 years as a garda.

Replying to Mr Hardiman, Keirns confirmed that his cousin raped him "every morning, Monday to Friday" and threatened he would kill him if he revealed what was happening.

"I sought solace in alcohol because I felt ashamed as a garda when the subject became topical in the force and there was a lot of discussion about it," he said.