Help for pupils as child porn principal jailed
Psychologists have been deployed to work with children at a school where the former acting principal has been jailed for possession and distribution of child abuse images.
It came after one parent told the Irish Examiner that since news broke of the guilty plea of Brian Fitzgerald earlier this month, families had been seeking reassurances from authorities and the school in East Cork around any possible images of their own children.
Fitzgerald, of Golf Links Road, Youghal, Co Cork, had pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to offences which related to 21 Meadowlands, Youghal, on various dates in 2017.
A former vice-principal, he had also served at one time as the acting principal. He has not been at the school since June 2017.
Earlier this month the court heard that Fitzgerald, aged 49, had admitted possession of child pornography on May 6, 2017.
The four distribution charges to which he pleaded guilty occurred on February 26, March 3, April 2, and April 18 of that year.
It emerged in court that he operated under the internet username, ‘Schoolteacher’ when he was using a child pornography site at the centre of the investigation.
He had more than 500 images and over 1,000 videos in his possession from category one, the classification related to children in sexual activity with other children or adults, and a similar number of images and videos again for category two images.
The court heard that in the course of internet communications with others in Germany, America and the UK, Fitzgerald distributed a total of 53 images.
He was sentenced to three years in jail, with half suspended.
Following the guilty plea, one parent told the Irish Examiner that there had been insufficient information from the school, claiming: “It was up to parents to contact the school once they saw it [news of the plea].”
Before sentencing yesterday, the parent said families were still waiting for some type of formal assurance regarding their own children, stating: “People like myself do not know if there are images of my kids.”
Outside court yesterday a senior garda in the case, Superintendent Colm Noonan, said the Garda National Protective Services Bureau instigated the investigation.
“An Garda Síochána are working closely with Tusla and the school to assist any parents who have any concerns arising from this garda investigation,” he said.
“I am satisfied that the images that were before the court do not relate to children in Ireland.”
In a letter issued to parents, the board of management of the school said it was aware of the conviction of the former teacher, stressing that he had not worked at the school since summer 2017 “and will not be returning to the school in any capacity”.
“The board has been advised that none of the charges brought against the individual relate to the school in any way and neither the school nor the board were involved in the Garda investigation of the matter, or the prosecution process which culminated in the recent conviction,” it said.
