A former school caretaker who abused an eight-year-old pupil in the 1980s apologised to the victim yesterday, telling him: "I am very, very sorry."
David Patrick Jervis (74), who used to work at St James' Primary School in Newtownabbey, was made the subject of a three-year probation order after he admitted sexually abusing the boy both in his office and in his car.
The offences were described as "terrible" by Judge Patricia Smyth, who said: "The sexual abuse of children impacts on their entire future, their mental health and their well-being."
After the sentence was passed at Belfast Crown Court, Jervis asked if he could apologise. Encouraged by the judge, he then turned to the victim and said he was sorry.
Jervis, from the Antrim Road area of Newtownabbey, has already served a sentence for similar offences against other children.
He admitted seven further offences committed on dates between 1986 and 1989, consisting of indecent assaults and gross indecency.
Prosecutor Kate McKay said while some charges were related to specific offending, others reflected a 'compression' of his offending behaviour.
She said Jervis's offending emerged when the victim, who is now 40, went to police to report he had been sexually abused at primary school.
He said he was indecently assaulted in his car while being taken to football training and that when he pushed Jervis's hand away, the caretaker laughed it off.
Other abuse, the man said, took place in Jervis's office in the school and in the toilets.
Ms McKay said the victim didn't speak about what happened for years but later confided to his GP, his partner and his parents.
Jervis was spoken to by police in October 2015, when he made no admissions. He continued to maintain his innocence but then changed his pleas to 'guilty' on the morning of trial.
Gavan Duffy QC, representing Jervis, said he served a "significant enough sentence" for similar offences, and spoke of a troubled background which included being raised in care.
Mr Duffy also noted his client's age and said he acted as a carer for his ill 76-year old wife and "has his own health issues" including high blood pressure and heart medication.
As well as placing Jervis on probation, Judge Smyth made him the subject of a Sexual Offences Probation Order for five years and banned him from working with children.
She told the victim: "There is no sentence that I can pass that can change the harm that has been done to you, but by this defendant's clear admission of guilt, you have been spared what would have been an ordeal of giving evidence."
The judge also told the man she hoped yesterday's proceedings had brought "peace of mind", adding: "It is very very rare this court hears a defendant publicly apologise."
