NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV
Published Wednesday, 29 February 2012
A victim of Co Down convicted paedophile and former priest, Daniel Curran – who was jailed on Wednesday for four years – has told UTV he was “scared to live and afraid to die”, as a result of the abuse he suffered.
The 61-year-old former priest, from Bryansford Avenue in Newcastle, was told by Judge David Smyth QC that a jury trial could have seen him sentenced to 18 years behind bars.
As it was, Curran had pleaded guilty at Downpatrick Crown Court to five charges of indecently assaulting two boys while he was a parish priest in west Belfast between 1989 and 1994 and was handed the four-year term.
Standing emotionless in the dock, Curran was told by Judge Smyth that he had abused the trust his position as a priest afforded him and that the acts of abuse were not isolated incidents.
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