Three sisters who were sexually abused by their brother over years in their south Dublin family home have voiced “deep disappointment” over the “leniency” of his eight-year prison sentence.
The global eight-year sentence given to Richard Brennan for 24 offences, including raping two of his sisters when they were minors, is not long enough to reflect the severity of his crimes and does not send “the right message” to perpetrators of such crimes, they said.
The sisters said they needed time to consider what they would do about the sentence.
At the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Mr Justice David Keane imposed the sentence on Brennan, with an address in Montana in the US, who admitted days into his trial last March to 24 offences against his sisters Yvonne Crist, Paula Fay and Catherine Wrightstone.
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The abuse was committed in the family home in Rathfarnham when Brennan was aged between 16 and 24 and included four offences of rape against Ms Fay and two of rape against Ms Wrightstone when both women were minors.
Brennan admitted to four offences of indecent assault against Ms Fay and 13 counts of indecently assaulting Ms Wrightstone. He was aged between 16 and 20 and she was aged between 13 and 17 at the time of the offences.
Ms Fay was aged 13 when she woke to find her brother in her bed lifting her nightdress, telling her he needed her to do him “a favour” because he would be unable to have sex when he became a priest, the trial heard.
Ms Wrightstone said her brother’s sexual abuse of her began on her ninth birthday and continued until she was 14. He admitted 13 counts of indecent assault of Ms Wrightstone on dates between June 1980 and late 1985 and two counts of rape in 1984 and 1985. He was aged between 19 and 24 at the time.
He admitted one offence of indecent assault against Ms Crist when she was aged 20 and he was 18. She woke in bed to find him naked on top of her looking for sex. She screamed and told him to leave but he only did so after she grabbed a phone, saying she would call gardaí.
The judge said aggravating factors were the fact Brennan committed some of the offences when he was a seminarian training for the priesthood, his “fundamental betrayal” of trust as a brother with responsibilities towards his sisters and that his offending continued when he was an adult.
Among the mitigatory factors were his “very late” plea of guilty, his apology to his sisters during the sentencing hearing, his expression of remorse, him having no previous convictions, that the offences occurred some 40 years ago and that he was considered at low risk of reoffending.
Ms Fay and Ms Wrightstone were in court for the sentencing while Ms Crist watched it via video link from her home in the US.
Brennan was ordained a Catholic priest in 1989 but left the priesthood in 1992 after meeting his future wife, Bridget, in the US. She travelled from the US with a family friend for the sentencing.
Outside court, Ms Fay and Ms Wrightstone, with their arms around each other and surrounded by family and friends, read statements. They said that while they were “deeply disappointed” with the sentence, it was a “monumental” day in their lives because their brother had been held accountable for the “horrendous” sexual abuse.
No prison sentence “is ever long enough for rape or sexual abuse” and while eight years will give their brother time to reflect on his horrific crimes and their lifelong impact, they believed that justice “has not truly been served”.
Having made the courageous decision to formally report their abuse in 2019, they said they were met with “many obstacles”. However, support from gardaí, Victim Support at Court and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre helped mitigate some of those. They also thanked their families for all their support.
Getting a conviction made the journey worthwhile and “is a massive step towards healing”, they said.
Ms Wrightstone said 42 years had passed since she first found the courage to speak out about her brother’s abuse.
“Sadly, at that time, the system failed me.”
While “deeply disappointed” with the sentence, she said justice still prevailed and “my voice mattered”.
“Richard Brennan can no longer hide behind the mantle of the church, masking menace with meekness and depravity with sanctity,” she said.
“My sisters and I have chosen to waive our right to anonymity so that other survivors know this: your are not alone. Though justice may take decades it is never beyond reach.”
They were “very grateful” their case got to court because less than eight per cent of historical child sexual abuse cases make it to trial, with even less resulting in a conviction.
“This is heartbreaking considering the lifelong sentence of emotional pain, broken trust and struggle to reclaim safety and self-worth in the aftermath of child sexual abuse.”
Their message to fellow survivors was: “When you’re ready, speak your truth. Your voice matters. Your are stronger than you realise. Support is out there and healing is possible.”
In his decision, Mr Justice Keane said the offences occurred in the family home which should have been a place of safety and security but was instead made one of fear.
He expressed “immense admiration” for the three women for the determination each had shown for engaging and persevering with the legal process and hoped they would get further strength from their brother’s late admission of guilt.
All three gave victim impact statements in which they stressed the physical, emotional and psychological impacts of the abuse they suffered and said they found the trial retraumatising. They had found some solace in their singing voices and all described themselves as survivors.
During the sentencing hearing, John Byrne SC, for Brennan, said his client grew up in a “somewhat chaotic” and violent family home, his mother had mental health issues and his father was an alcoholic.
Counsel said Brennan had been naturalised into deviant sexual behaviour from an early age by his older brother Bernard and this case could not be divorced from his brother’s earlier case.
Last month, Bernard Brennan (67) was jailed for a total of 4½ years after pleading guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault against Ms Fay and Ms Crist on dates between 1972 and 1975. Ms Fay was aged seven and Ms Crist was aged 13 when he first abused them.
