A man who was sexually abused by his uncle 30 years ago has described a Tusla investigation into the allegations as “flawed” and a “farce”.
In a victim-impact statement read to the court on his behalf, Alan Jenkins said he felt “very aggrieved” that Tusla found the allegations he had made against his uncle, Paul Craven (55) “unfounded”.
Craven was convicted last month of a total of 11 counts, including sexual assault and two for indecent assault on dates between 1989 and 1999. He was found not guilty of two counts of sexual assault and not guilty by the direction of the trial judge in relation to two further counts of indecent assault.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Monday that Mr Jenkins wished to waive his anonymity to allow Craven, of Meadow View, Sarsfield Road, Dublin 10, to be named.
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In his statement read by his daughter Sophie, Mr Jenkins said Tusla “used the same statement that the Director of Public Prosecutions used” to bring charges against Craven. He said the agency “never spoke” to other witnesses who gave statements.
“To find the allegation unfounded without looking at the facts and by simply interviewing Paul Craven shows that the investigation you conducted was flawed and, in fact, a farce,” Mr Jenkins said, adding that Craven “used this finding to further shame me and make me out to be a liar”.
He said efforts he and his sister made to contact Tusla in light of the charges and Craven’s conviction have been “ignored”, and Craven “remained working with vulnerable children”.
The court heard that Mr Jenkins’s parents died when he was very young, and he then went to live with his grandparents.
He was aged six or seven when the first incident occurred. He said Craven would call him to his bedroom, and they would play a game where Craven would hide cards behind his body and ask the victim to find them. In the first incident, Craven took his hand and guided it to his genital area, where he had concealed playing cards.
The court heard the abuse continued and primarily involved inappropriate touching.
In his victim-impact statement, Mr Jenkins said he had been “very vulnerable” when the abuse started, and Craven used this to his advantage.
He said Craven “took away my childhood, my teenage years, my young adulthood, but now I have my justice and people will know what he has done to me and will know that justice has prevailed”.
He described the criminal process as a “living nightmare”, but the jury’s verdicts meant he could “try and move on from this chapter in my life although I’ll always bear the scars and the emotional turmoil that Paul Craven put me through”.
Addressing Craven directly, Mr Jenkins’s statement said Craven had used his job working with children to help “abuse me”.
“You presented yourself as an expert in your field, a man who walked alongside men of God, a man who told me that he had saved the lives of delinquent boys, a man who nobody questioned.”
He said Craven was his mother’s brother and should have protected him, but instead “chose to abuse that trust and do things of a sexual nature to him”.
“This court will define your penalty for your wrongs, and that will be for a specific period of time. However, you will never be forgiven by me or my sister, and you will definitely never be forgiven by our mother.”
Craven was interviewed as part of the Garda investigation and denied the allegations. He also gave evidence on his own behalf during the trial. He has no previous convictions.
The investigating garda agreed with defence counsel that Craven has not come to any other negative attention and that he voluntarily attended an interview with gardaí.
Defence counsel asked the court to allow Craven to remain on bail until the case is finalised, as he is required to sign contracts as part of a house purchase.
Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin agreed to adjourn the case but told the defence that their client should be “under no illusions” and that a custodial sentence would be imposed.
She adjourned the case to January 28th next, when a full plea of mitigation will be heard.
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