A MAN who says he was abused by a teacher at a prestigious Catholic grammar has called on school authorities to acknowledge his treatment.
Terry Doran was speaking after The Irish News revealed he was paid £50,000 over claims he was sexually abused at St Columb’s College in Derry.
He has named former teacher Raymond Gallagher as his abuser.
Gallagher died in 2007 after leaving the school in unexplained circumstances in the early 1990s. He had been a vice-principal at the college, as well as a music and Irish language teacher.
At the time it was reported that complaints had been made to the college by parents regarding Gallagher’s conduct towards their sons.
In a disturbing story of life-long ill treatment at the hands of the Catholic Church, the 59-year-old set out in The Irish News this week how he was a victim of the cruel mother and baby home scheme before a church official later rejected his claims of abuse.
In 2015 Mr Doran received the huge settlement after taking a case against the college and Raymond Gallagher.
A spokesman for the Catholic diocese of Derry last night said it “was not party to the proceedings and made no contribution to the settlement”.
Speaking last night Mr Doran urged authorities at St Columb’s to recognise his case.
“At least say it happened and somebody was aware in a high-up position that this was going on,” he said.
“This wasn’t just one, two, three or four cases – it was going on for decades,” he said.
It has now emerged that a PSNI investigation into historical sexual abuse at St Columb’s has been named Operation Charwell.
While police initially said they had received five reports of “alleged historical sexual abuse dating back to the 1970s/80s” they have since revised this figure down to four.
“In all of these cases all lines of enquiries have been exhausted,” a spokeswoman said.
So far the prestigious college has refused to comment on Mr Doran’s case.
When contacted yesterday a woman at the school said “no comment”.
Mr Doran has called for St Columb’s College to be included in an ongoing historical abuse probe headed by former PSNI deputy chief constable Judith Gillespie.
In recent days other people have come forward to make claims about Gallagher.
Mr Doran’s solicitor Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, last night welcomed them speaking out.
“It is welcome because it could help support the inclusion of Gallagher and St Columb’s Derry as part of Judith Gillespie’s inquiry into historical clerical child abuse,” he said.
“I would lend significant support to our request of the PSNI that they investigate section five breaches – section five of the criminal law act – where it is a criminal offence if you have information about a crime having been committed, in this case historical sexual crime, and you failed to bring it to the attention of the
authorities.”
