IRELAND
Wicklow People
The Wicklow priest cleared of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl says he is preparing for 'the happiest Christmas I'll ever have'.
Fr. Chris Conroy (71) of 10 Rocky Road, Wicklow, was found not guilty of the offence at Wicklow Circuit Court by a unanimous decision of the jury on Friday.
He told the Wicklow People this week that he had suffered over the last two years but said he never worried for a minute. If he had not been exonerated, he said it would have been 'the biggest travesty of justice'.
'Here was an innocent man accused of something like this. I preserved my dignity at all times. I didn't have to go into the stand. This case was disproven beyond all reasonable doubt without my evidence,' he stated.
After the charges were brought against him, Fr. Conroy was suspended from all external religious duties, which he said was a terrible thing to happen to a priest.
He was hurt that he was not allowed to say the funeral Mass for a former student and could not perform marriage and baptism ceremonies for friends and family members.
Posted by kshaw at December 23, 2004 05:28 PM