'Rot in Hell', victim tells former priest who abused him

A sexual abuse victim from Donegal bravely faced down disgraced former priest Eamonn Crossan and told him: 'Rot in Hell'.

Crossan, who previously served a prison sentence for indecent assault, was charged with almost 100 historic sexual offences against the man.

The 73-year-old defrocked priest appeared before Letterkenny Circuit Court from Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, where he is in custody and which was given as his current address.

The victim, a man now aged in his 40s, courageously took to the witness box to read his victim impact statement after details of the shocking abuse were relayed.

“I hope that you return to rot where you came from,” he told Crossan. “If there is a God, then there is definitely a Hell – and that is what is waiting on you.”

The charges relate to dates in the late 1980s and early 1990s at locations within County Donegal.

The victim served as an altar boy and the court heard the abuse would often happen while Crossan was wearing vestments and ready to say Mass as they were in the sacristy or the clerk's room of a Church.

When he spoke to garda, the victim recalled that “There was no warning, he would just come up and do it.”

The man, who was supported by his wife in court, faced Crossan via the videolink and told him: “Having had any sense of a normal childhood stolen from me, I fought hard against the demons to function from day to day.”

The victim told how hearing details of a previous case against Crossan “pulled me back to the depths”.

“Each word read like punch to face,” he said in his victim impact statement. “I froze as the name was revealed as Eamon Crossan. The words fell on me like a ton of bricks as the name of the priest who abused me was read. I felt sick to my stomach”

The man said he has struggled with mental health, anxiety and nightmares and has had suicidal thoughts and trust issues.

“I wondered if I was worthy of being here at all.”

He told Crossan that the trauma has affected his entire family “who you also groomed in order to have your way with a child.”

In December, Crossan, who was previously jailed for indecent assault, pleaded guilty to nine sample charges out of a total of 96, including counts of indecent assault and sexual assault.

The court heard that these were ‘representative counts’ and the guilty pleas were tendered on a full facts basis.

The guilty plea came after a lengthy discussion with his legal team after it was initially anticipated that a jury would be required for a trial.

The man initially told his wife about the abuse before a report was made to gardai.

Detective Garda Ciaran O'Brien - who outlined the case to barrister for the State Ms Fiona Crawford BL - said that Crossan made “certain admissions”, but had disputed “certain evidence”.

Crossan would later tell a probation officer that the victim's account was “99 per cent untrue” and maintained that his actions were not sexually motivated.

Detective Garda Ciaran O'Brien. (North West Newspix)

Crossan told detectives that his victim was “good fun to be with.” He said in an interview that there was body contact with the victim “for comfort and warmth” and also “a need for affection”.

Crossan would visit the family home of the victim, which he said was seen at the time as “a great honour” as there was “a reverence involved”. He would take children in his car and regularly buy them crisps, chocolate and Coke.

Crossan was heavily involved in GAA and the victim recalled being admonished by the priest for playing soccer.

The abuse endured by the victim included kissing on the lips and hugging.

On multiple occasions, Crossan lured the victim into his bed and touched him. He recalled going to bed wearing pyjamas and waking up wearing nothing. The victim said the abuse became “normalised and it felt like he was just educating me.”

On one occasion, the victim recalled Crossan having his penis out and seeing semen on his leg with the priest telling the young boy what it was.

The victim said he would lay in the fetal position “Thinking of happier times and I just felt embarrassed.”

He said the abuse continued and he recalled on one occasion Crossan rubbing his penis against his own and referred to it as “sword fighting”.

Mr Peter Nolan BL, barrister for Crossan, told the court that his client has been in custody since August 2022 on these charges.

Barrister Mr Peter Nolan. (North West Newspix)

Crossan has been ostracised from his family and accommodation in County Kildare which was previously provided by the Raphoe Diocese, is no longer being made available to him.

Mr Nolan said Crossan remains hopeful that the Diocese will provide support in terms of accommodation.

“It is uncertain,” Mr Nolan said.

Mr Nolan said his client has maintained that his actions were not sexually motivated. Crossan attended the Granada Institute following a report of abuse. There, he underwent a sex offender treatment programme.

Crossan told a probation officer that he “became a priest at ten and never became a teenager”.

“He had no interest in typical teenage activity and didn't pursue any relationships.

Crossan has been classed as being of a medium risk of reoffending and is not deemed suitable for community service.

Mr Nolan said that he now understands that his behaviour was “inappropriate” and hearing the contents of the victim impact statement made Crossan realise “for the first time how much affect his behaviour had on another person.”

Crossan is an enhanced prisoner and goes to school and works in horticulture in the prison.

Judge Aylmer will sentence Crossan next Wednesday, May 8.

Judge John Aylmer. (North West Newspix)

Crossan has pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual assault, contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990. These relate to separate unknown dates between April-July 1991 and July-October 1992 at separate name locations in County Donegal.

He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the male by touching his genitals and to another charge of sexually assaulting the male by cuddling him and kissing him on the lips.

Crossan also pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault contrary to common law relating to incidents where he indecently assaulted the male by cuddling him and kissing him on the lips on dates in 1987, 1988 and 1990.

Crossan pleaded guilty to three other charges of indecent assault contrary to common law. On each of these counts, he was charged that, at an address in County Donegal on unknown dates between March 1987 and March 1990, he did indecently assault a male by touching his genitals.

He was charged with another count of indecent assault contrary to common law at another address in County Donegal on a date unknown between July 1990 and December 1990. On this count, he is charged that he did indecently assault a male by touching his genitals.

In 2021, Crossan was jailed for three years, with the final 12 months suspended, when he pleaded guilty to single charge of indecent assault against another boy at the parochial house in Kincasslagh on a date unknown between 1984 and 1985.

At that time, he was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Crossan was a priest in the Raphoe Diocese from 1976, but when a complaint was made to the Church in 1998 he was immediately laicised.

Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, the Diocesan Administrator for the Raphoe Diocese, said he wished to offer an apology to the victim and his family "for the appalling breach of trust and for the dreadful crimes committed". 

"I am grateful to the victim for their courage and strength in coming forward, and I hope and pray that the conviction today will in some way support them in their difficult journey of seeking justice and healing," Monsignor Gillespie said.

"The crimes committed by Eamonn Crossan have caused terrible damage to the lives of his victims and they bring shame upon our diocese.  

"Crimes against children and the vulnerable are particularly reprehensible. This must continue to make us alert and proactive in ensuring good practices for a safe environment for all involved in the life of the Church."