Ireland: Br Dax convicted of sexually abusing boys at Letterfrack industrial school

Proceedings

1. 2003-01-01 · guilty plea and conviction

   Ireland — criminal prosecution (court not stated in the Commission's text) with findings by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Ryan Report, 2009), Vol. 1 Ch. 8. Br Dax, who worked at Letterfrack over two periods between the late 1950s and mid-1970s, pleaded guilty to sample charges of indecent assault and buggery of boys and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. He admitted committing sexual offences against 25 former pupils; four of the complainants also gave evidence to the Investigation Committee, including a boy he selected to work alone with him in the kitchen. The Congregation's final submission stated that the conviction of Br Dax 'spoke for itself.' He remained a member of the Congregation after conviction.

Documented coercion mechanisms

• religious-order custody of boys with no contact outside the institution
• assignment of a favoured victim to kitchen work, isolating him for repeated abuse
• a documented climate in which boys could not report to any Brother without fear of punishment for 'telling lies'