Suspended sentence for paedophile priest

A paedophile priest who abused young vulnerable boys for almost 20 years was handed a suspended sentence yesterday after he breached a court order.

Imposing a three-month jail sentence on disgraced priest Daniel Gerard Curran but suspending it for three years, District Judge Steven Keown said the pre-sentence probation report illustrated a “depressing lack of insight and minimisation of his behaviour”.

He warned the 72-year-old if he breached his Sexual Offences Prevention Order again in that time “you will be facing custody”.

Curran, from Bryansford Avenue in Newcastle, had earlier entered a guilty plea to breaching his lifelong SOPO on August 12 in that he “remained or loitered at Tullymore National Activity Centre which by its nature is likely to attract or be frequented by children”.

A prosecuting lawyer told Downpatrick Magistrates’ Court how Curran had walked into the activity centre “with a box of books for dissemination”, but staff who recognised him leafed through the books and realised they were “filled with sex references” and reported the matter to the police.

The books had been written by a Nicholas Russell which is the pseudonym Curran has used before to write a number of books centred in the Newcastle area.

Arrested and interviewed, Curran admitted being at the centre and leaving the box of his books there.

Defence counsel Noel Dillon revealed that Curran had left books there before “five or six years ago” without complaint so was simply doing that again.

“There is no claim that he was in direct proximity to any children,” said the barrister, adding that Curran “had it in his mind the centre was more adult orientated”.

“It’s been pointed out to him that children do attend there and he has resolved never to drop books there again,” said Mr Dillon.

Submitting that Curran is entitled to credit for his early guilty plea, the lawyer said there was only one previous SOPO breach even though the pensioner has been under supervision since 2009.

Sentencing Curran who sat at the back of the court dressed in a blue anorak, Judge Keown said he was satisfied the breach “crossed the custody threshold” but given the plea, he would suspend the jail sentence.

The last time Curran was at court four years ago he smiled as he walked free after he was handed a 200-hour community service order for sexually abusing a boy more than 20 years ago.