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	Pupils Sexually Abused by Spiritual Director Priest Irish Independent June 30, 2006 http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1643103&issue_id=14280 A Former spiritual director and bursar of Gormanston College who sexually abused four pupils 30 years ago has been remanded forsentence. Fr Ronald Bennett, now aged 71, of Dun Mhuire, Seafield Road, Killiney, who was also sports master at Gormanston College, pleaded guilty to six sample charges of indecent assault on dates from 1974 to 1981. He was remanded by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Niall Muldoon, senior clinical psychologist at the Granada Institute, said Bennett had undergone "considerable therapy" there and was categorised at the lowest level of risk of re-offending. Mr Muldoon told Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that when appointed in 1963, Bennett was "ill-equipped for the position of spiritual director" and dealing with sex education matters because he couldn't distinguish the boundaries in relation to his own sexuality. He had grown up as an only child in a very sheltered atmosphere and was very immature regarding sexual matters when he went to secondary school and then joined the seminary. Mr Muldoon said Bennett would have considered himself to be "a very upright man" and didn't see any consequences arising when abusing the victims, but when he read in the 1980s of the damage done by this activity he became "very much aware" of the harm he had done and was very remorseful. Sgt Margaret Murrell told Karen O'Connor BL, prosecuting, that an investigation was launched in 1999 after one of the victims complained to gardai of being sexually assaulted at Gormanston College while a boarder there from 1974. Bennett's duties as spiritual director included organising teams of altar boys. Sgt Murrell said the investigation revealed this man was abused more than the three others in the charges. The victims revealed a pattern of being called over the public address system to go to Bennett's room which they entered when the light outside turned from red to green. Victims told of getting sweets from Bennett after these episodes and being told by him not to tell anyone what happened. Sgt Murrell said Bennett was arrested in 1999 and accepted there was "substance" in the allegations made by one of the victims but said he couldn't recall all the details in relation to this man. "I presume I did these things with him," he said. "I regret having abused these people and I'm trying to work out with the help of counselling why it happened," he said. Bennett told gardai he could not say why he did these things and was sorry for having offended. He apologised to the victims and said he had feelings of "deep shame".
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