Christian Brother ‘to die in jail’ after new abuse sentence
7 hours ago
Catherine Morrison & Michael Fitzpatrick
BBC News NI
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Photopress Close-up of Paul Dunleavy outside court. He has grey-ish hair, wearing glasses, black blazer and white shirt.Photopress
Paul Dunleavy, a Christian Brother and former teacher, is already serving a prison sentence for previous convictions
A Christian Brother and former school principal is expected to die in prison after being sentenced to a further 10 years in jail for historical child sex abuse.
Paul Dunleavy, with an address at Glen Road in Belfast, was found guilty of 36 charges against former pupils in September.
The offences were committed on dates between 1964 and 1991 while the 89-year-old worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh.
He is already serving a prison sentence having been previously convicted 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.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) 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.”
Dunleavy is still a Christian Brother despite his convictions.
The Christian Brothers is a Roman Catholic lay organisation formed more than 200 years ago for the purpose of educating Catholic boys.
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.”
‘A career littered with shattered psyches’
Judge Patrick Lynch said Dunleavy had consistently denied responsibility for his crimes.
The judge said he could only attribute those denials to “a malign stubbornness and an unwillingness to admit to such persons as may have believed in him that he is a child molester”.
“Most notably, perhaps, members of his family whom I’m told are still supportive of him,” he added.
The judge said 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 said Dunleavy, who the court heard has a life expectancy of about four years, felt he could conduct his predatory behaviour with impunity.
He praised the nine victims in the case for their bravery in coming forward, adding that he hoped their actions would deter those tempted to commit similar crimes and “save children, in the future, from having to undergo what you have suffered
Speaking outside court, 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.
She added that police believe there may be more victims “who have not yet had the confidence to speak to us”.
“It doesn’t matter when the abuse happened. We will still investigate and work to bring abusers before the courts as we have done today,” she added.
