A former Circuit Court judge has failed in his bid to overturn his conviction for the attempted rape and sexual abuse of six young men when he was a teacher more than 30 years ago. The Court of Appeal dismissed all grounds of Gerard O'Brien's challenge on Friday.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Gerard O'Brien's challenge on Friday, rejecting all grounds of his appeal against the December 2023 conviction by a Central Criminal Court jury.
O'Brien (61), of Old School House, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary, was convicted of one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault against six victims.
The offences occurred at locations in Dublin between March 1991 and November 1997, when O'Brien was aged between 27 and 33 and working as a teacher at CBC Monkstown. The victims — four of whom were students or former students of O'Brien — were then aged between 17 and 24.
O'Brien's counsel, Hugh Hartnett, argued that the trial judge's instructions were "confusing" and "weighted against the defence," claiming the tone of the charge "strayed into conveying the impression" that the judge held a personal view on the charges. He also contended that the judge's comment urging the jury not to "enter into a parallel universe of make-believe" effectively discredited O'Brien's evidence, and that the judge invited the jury to give less weight to his statements due to his legal background as a judge.
Presiding judge Tara Burns rejected all arguments:
"The trial judge made it clear, as he did on several occasions throughout his charge, that decisions on all factual matters, together with the outcome of the trial, fell within the remit of the jury and that he had no role whatsoever in this regard."
The court ruled that the jury was "clearly instructed" and no error of law or misdirection arose. The "parallel universe" comment applied to all witnesses, not just O'Brien. His status as a legal professional was a matter of "common sense" in assessing his "untruthful memorandum of interview" and his subsequent "revisiting of that untruthfulness." The refusal to order separate trials was not an error, and the warning regarding lies told by a defendant was not confusing.
During the trial, O'Brien admitted he initially lied to gardaí out of "shame" and "blind panic." He acknowledged sexual activity with two complainants but claimed it was consensual, and accepted performing oral sex on another but claimed mistaken belief about consent. He denied attempting anal sex. He admitted that having students at his home and in his bed was "inappropriate" and "should not have happened."
"The idea of being charged with a sexual assault frightened me beyond reason. I went into a sort of blind panic about it all."
O'Brien was jailed for four years in June 2024 by Judge Alexander Owens. He had resigned as a Circuit Court judge — appointed in 2015 — and had been on leave since the allegations emerged. His legal team submitted a psychological report stating he was "psychologically vulnerable," had "unmet sexual needs due to being gay in a homophobic society and his disability," and suffered from major depressive disorder.
The six victims, who previously indicated they wish for O'Brien to be named but want to maintain their own anonymity, will have their victim-impact statements considered at sentencing.
