Christian Brother sentenced for child sex abuse

A former teacher and school principal has been sentenced to a further 10 years in prison for historical child sex abuse.

Paul Dunleavy, with an address at Glen Road in Belfast, was found guilty of 36 charges of historical sexual abuse against former pupils in September.

The offences were committed on dates between 1964 and 1991 while the 89-year-old Christian Brother worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh.

He is already serving a prison sentence having been convicted previously on two separate occasions of sexual offences against children in his care.

He will begin serving his latest sentence in May 2026 when his current sentence ends.

In total, he has been convicted of 72 counts involving 18 victims across three trials.

Dunleavy is still a Christian Brother despite his convictions.

BBC News NI asked the organisation if they had a response to his victims’ calls for both an apology and clarity from them on what they knew about his offending, and when.

The organisation has declined to comment, but said: “The Congregation cannot comment on matters that are the subject of ongoing proceedings.”

Two of his victims have shared their stories with BBC News NI. Both wanted to remain anonymous.

Judge Patrick Lynch said Dunleavy had consistently denied responsibility for his crimes.

“His persistent denials of guilt I can only attribute to a malign stubbornness and an unwillingness to admit to such persons as may have believed in him that he is a child molester,” he said.

“Most notably, perhaps, members of his family whom I’m told are still supportive of him,” he said.

“In this case the world would have been a better place had he not served a lifetime in religious and public service.

“His teaching career has been littered with the shattered psyches of his victims.”

Judge Lynch praised the nine victims in the case for their bravery in coming forward.

“By coming forward and demonstrating that these crimes will not go unpunished it is to be hoped that you may have contributed in deterring those who may presently be tempted to commit such crimes and thus save children, in the future, from having to undergo what you have suffered.”

Speaking outside court following today’s sentencing, PSNI Det Ch Supt Lindsay Fisher said Dunleavy “used his trusted position as a respected and influential member of the community to carry out his offending”.

“He abused young boys in school, home and other public spaces. We now know that Dunleavy’s abuse has even involved multiple children within the same family, causing untold, lasting psychological damage,” she added.

“Our thoughts today are with the victims that this man preyed on and abused for so many years. It takes huge courage to speak out, to break the cycle of abuse.”

Det Ch Supt Fisher said that “there is no doubt that Dunleavy’s victims were let down by those who should have protected him”.

“There is only one place for Dunleavy and that is behind bars. He will die in prison.”

James, not his real name, was abused while at St Aidan’s Primary School in west Belfast.

It was the 1970s and the Troubles were raging on the streets outside the school, but the danger, he said, lay inside.

“As I described school for me, it was a horror movie outside.

“You were running in as they do, and all the kids run upstairs and lock the doors and then realise the monster is in there.”

James said school should have been an escape from the “madness” outside.

He said for years he tried to bury the abuse but struggled to cope.

“Was that the reason why I’m like this? Full of addictions, the amount of jobs I’ve had over my lifetime you could run a list of them all, always being good at the start then self-destruct happened,” he said.

Dennis, not his real name, was abused while at the Abbey Primary School in Newry.

He said he still suffers from serious mental health issues, including self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

He hasn’t told many people about what happened to him, not even close family members.

“I grew up hating my name, how I looked, basically I just hated everything about myself,” Dennis said.

He has blanked a lot out.

“What it has done is basically rob me of any childhood memories.

“I’ve flashes. My sister would talk to me, and say do you remember this, do you remember that? I can remember the beatings, I can remember the slaps.”

The jury at this most recent trial was told Paul Dunleavy was already in prison for similar offences.

There were reporting restrictions around the earlier trials.

The first file relating to allegations against him was submitted to the PPS in 2011.

Dunleavy’s denial of the offences was “devastating” for James.

“It’s as if we’re still telling lies, because he denied it.

He says he has forgiven Dunleavy but it is a constant process.

“To forgive him was the only way to get rid of it, it’s the only way for me to carry on.

“But it comes back, it doesn’t last – you can forgive him in the morning and want to kill him in the afternoon. It’s a thing I have to deal with day in and day out.”

James says he believes there are people who suffered at the hands of Dunleavy who haven’t come forward yet. And others who haven’t made it.

“l have got friends in the graveyard over this, that didn’t get the chance, that weren’t able to cope with the mental load and buried themselves in drugs and alcohol and weren’t able to get through it.”

Dennis said he wishes he could have done more to stop Dunleavy.

“There’s a lot of guilt there because you did not speak up and it’s only now you’re finding out about the amount of people that’s come after you,” Dennis said.

“You’ve that guilt there and it lives with you every day, that if you had have opened your mouth and said something maybe it would have been nipped in the bud.”

“Back in them days priests, brothers, all of it, they could do whatever they wanted, they got away with it.

“It’s only now people are finding out what they were really like.”

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, help and support can be found at BBC Action Line.