Therapy was deemed successful in preventing the recurrence of paedophilic behaviour in as few as 10 per cent of cases, Judge Cyril Kelly said at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court when he jailed a 60 year old man for three years. The defendant had pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a teenage boy and girl who ran messages for him.
He also had a previous conviction in 1987 for buggering a 14 year old boy, and while he denied having paedophilic tendencies, he could not explain why he committed these offences. He had been abused himself in childhood.
The single man pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a 13 year old boy in July 1990 and sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl in September 1994. Judge Kelly noted that the girl still suffers from loss of sleep and has recurring nightmares.