Gerard O'Brien (judge)

Last updated

Gerard O'Brien
Judge of the Circuit Court
In office
18 February 2015 –5 January 2024

Gerard O'Brien (born 14 November 1964) is an Irish judge and lawyer who served as a Judge of the Circuit Court from 2015 to 2024. Prior to his appointment, he was state solicitor for North Tipperary and practiced as a solicitor in Thurles. He was formerly a secondary school teacher and a local politician.

Contents

In December 2023, he was found guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault. He resigned as a judge the following month.

Early life

O'Brien was born in 1964. He was born without arms and with one leg as a result of the thalidomide drug. [1] A documentary on RTÉ Radio 1 in 1992 profiled O'Brien and his mother and their experiences of his disability. [2] He attended University College Dublin, from where he graduated in 1986 with a law degree. He later obtained a higher diploma in education in 1987 and master of law in criminology and criminal justice in 2012 from UCD. [3]

He was a secondary school teacher in a Dublin school during the 1990s. [4] He founded Phoenix Productions, a youth musical theatre group in Thurles, in 1998. [5]

Following his teaching career, O'Brien qualified as a solicitor in March 2003. [6] He first worked at two Dublin firms, Garrett Sheehan & Co Solicitors and Roger Greene & Sons Solicitors. [1]

O'Brien established his own practice in Thurles, Gerard O'Brien Solicitors, in 2006. [1] His practice was involved in childcare, mental health and criminal cases in the courts. [7] [8] [9] The firm was frequently retained by the Child and Family Agency to act for people appointed to the role of guardian at litem. [10] In 2013, he acted for the guardian ad litem appointed to Samantha Azzopardi in the High Court. It was initially believed that Azzopardi was a child, but it was subsequently determined that she was a woman in her twenties. [11] [12] The case attracted media attention in several countries and was featured on Con Girl, a documentary on Paramount+. [12] [13] [14]

O'Brien was elected to Thurles Town Council in the 2009 local elections for Fianna Fáil and served as deputy mayor of Thurles. [15] [2] He was appointed state solicitor for North Tipperary in April 2012 and resigned his position as councillor. [16] He was replaced on the council by Gerard Fogarty. [17] As state solicitor, he brought a prosecution against Michael Lowry for tax law offences in 2014, serving the book of evidence on Lowry in April 2014. [18] [19]

Judicial career

O'Brien was nominated to the Circuit Court to fill a vacancy created by Margaret Heneghan. [20] He was appointed in February 2015. [21] Initially based in Dublin, [1] he was later assigned to the Cork circuit. [22] He heard cases including those involving drugs offences, sexual offences, criminal damage, assault, theft, arson, and road traffic offences. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] In 2018, O'Brien reviewed an essay written by a man appealing a conviction of drugs possession. On the basis of the essay, he dismissed the conviction. [23] He has heard civil cases involving personal injuries and mental distress. [30] [31]

Following his criminal conviction, O'Brien resigned on 5 January 2024. [32] [33]

Trial and conviction

In 2019, the Garda Síochána received formal complaints from six men about O'Brien relating to events from 1991 to 1997. [2] Four complainants were students in the school where he taught and two knew O'Brien from his home town. [34] He initially denied to Gardaí having had sexual contact any with the complainants, but later claimed he had consensual relations with three of them. [35] He was charged in 2021 [2] with one count of attempted rape and eight counts of sexual assault. [35]

The four-week trial presided over by Alexander Owens in the Central Criminal Court concluded on 22 December 2023. O'Brien pleaded not guilty. [34] Five of the complainants said that they were sexually assaulted after waking up next to O'Brien and the sixth said that he was sexually assaulted in the toilet of a pub. [35] A ten-person jury found O'Brien guilty of the nine charges. [35] [36]

As a result of his conviction, O'Brien is on the sex offender register. He will be sentenced in March 2024. [34] [36]

Following the trial, the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that she was consulting with the Attorney General Rossa Fanning on "the options open to the Government and the Oireachtas". [37] One the complainants and several politicians made statements seeking his resignation. [38] [39] [40] He later resigned. [33]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "North tipp state solicitor appointed to circuit court". Nenagh Guardian. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Carolan, Mary; Roche, Barry (22 December 2023). "Gerard O'Brien: Convicted judge overcame severe physical disability to teach and pursue legal career". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Recent judicial appointments for our alumni". Facebook. UCD School of Law. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Disgraced judge Gerard O'Brien convicted of sexual abuse of six young men while he was teacher in Dublin". Independent.ie. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Dundon, Noel. "Tipperary youth musical theatre group Phoenix Productions to celebrate 20 years tonight". www.tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Newly-qualified solicitors at the presentation of their parchments on 12 March 2003" (PDF). Law Society Gazette. 97 (10): 65. December 2003. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "The case for reforming the childcare system". Business Post. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Court rejects plea to transfer woman to Dundrum hospital". The Irish Times. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Roche, Barry (2 August 2010). "Four men charged over series of burglaries in Munster and Leinster". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Deegan, Gordon (24 December 2014). "Shatter's legal firm receives second-highest fees from CFA". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Barry, Aoife (7 November 2013). "GPO girl moving into HSE adult mental health care". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Samantha Azzopardi, woman found in Dublin, returns to Australia". The Guardian. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  13. ↑ Drape, Julian (6 November 2013). "Aust woman in Dublin free to leave care". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Whatever happened to GPO Girl? The mind-boggling tale of a serial scammer who landed in Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Local Elections 2009 Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Health Minister had no recollection of commitment to restore 22 respite beds in Tipperary". www.tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "'No decision made on my future in public life' - Gerard Fogarty". www.tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "Lowry tax case: Matters need to be clarified". Independent.ie. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  19. ↑ "Judge gets Michael Lowry to attend court for book of evidence". Independent.ie. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  20. ↑ "Seven new Circuit Court judges nominated". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "AN CHÚIRT CHUARDA" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 16: 279. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  22. ↑ "The Judges | The Courts Service of Ireland". www.courts.ie. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  23. 1 2 Heylin, Liam (16 March 2018). "Man writes essay on court sittings as part of appeal". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  24. ↑ "Man guilty of indecent assault on child in 1990". echo live. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "Hotelier says she no longer feels safe in her hometown". The Southern Star. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  26. ↑ Kelleher, Olivia (3 July 2019). "Cork man described as 'menace to society' gets two years for attack on woman". Cork Beo. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  27. ↑ "Suspended sentence for Macroom woman who stole over €200k from her employer". The Southern Star. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  28. ↑ Heylin, Liam (17 July 2018). "Arsonist avoids jail for attempted €200k fraud". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  29. ↑ Heylin, Liam (16 June 2018). "Man gets five years as Garda patrol car rammed". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  30. ↑ Heylin, Liam (22 July 2017). "Dunnes employee wins €40k after slip on wet floor". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  31. ↑ Heylin, Liam (22 March 2017). "Woman sues HSE over videoing of birth for study". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  32. ↑ MacRedmond, David (6 January 2024). "McEntee confirms resignation of judge Gerard O'Brien following sexual assault conviction". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  33. 1 2 "Circuit Court judge Gerard O'Brien resigns". RTÉ News. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  34. 1 2 3 Dodd, Claire Henry and Eimear (22 December 2023). "Judge found guilty of sexually assaulting six young men while he was a teacher in the 1990s". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Lynch, Sharon (22 December 2023). "Judge guilty of sexual assault during time as teacher". RTÉ News. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  36. 1 2 Carolan, Mary (22 December 2023). "Judge convicted of sexually assaulting six males on dates in the 1990s". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  37. ↑ "Minister seeks AG's advice after judge convicted". RTÉ News. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  38. ↑ "Convicted judge Gerard O'Brien should resign, sexual assault survivor says". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  39. ↑ Pownall, Sylvia (7 January 2024). "Judge Gerard O'Brien resigns following sexual assault conviction". Dublin Live. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  40. ↑ "Sinn Féin pushes for removal of judge convicted of sexual assaults". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
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