A former headmaster handed a further 10 year sentence for the abuse of pupils in schools is believed to be one of the north’s “most prolific” child sexual predators who targeted vulnerable boys including those whose fathers had died.
Paul Dunleavy, who was a Christian Brother at the time of his offending, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for 26 offences related to the abuse of nine young victims between 1964 and 1991.
It was the third raft of convictions against the 89-year-old, who over three trials has been convicted of a total of 72 offences involving 18 victims.
However, police and prosecutors have said they believe the actual number of Dunleavy’s victims is “likely to be much higher”.
During his educational career, Dunleavy worked at four primary and secondary schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh, and retired in 1997.
The acting head of the Public Prosecution Service Serious Crime Unit, Catherine Kierans, said following the sentencing that the paedophile, whose address was given as Glen Road in Belfast, was “a calculating predator who used his standing in the community to methodically groom and sexually abuse boys as young as 7″.
Ms Kierans, who prosecuted the case, said: “He is now an elderly man, but when he committed these offences, he was a dominant and intimidating figure who instilled fear in his victims. He exerted control in the most despicable ways over young boys with whose care he had been entrusted as a teacher and a school principal.
“Dunleavy has been convicted of offences involving 18 victims, but the actual number of his victims is likely to be much higher. We believe him to be one of the most prolific child sexual abusers convicted in this jurisdiction.
“He often targeted boys who were already vulnerable, including some whose fathers had died. He would pretend to take a genuine interest in and care for his victims but this was simply a manipulative tactic so he could exploit and abuse them. His outwardly respectable position in the community meant that it was even more difficult for victims to come forward at the time, with many fearing they would not be believed.”
Ms Kierans praised the courage of his victims, who were forced to give evidence as a result of Dunleavy’s denials of the charges he faced.
Head of the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher said Dunleavy “used his trusted position as a respected and influential member of the community to carry out his offending” and even targeted multiple children within the same family, which caused “untold long-lasting psychological damage”.
”Predators of this type are incredibly manipulative, and invest a lot of time building trust and embedding themselves within communities to carry out their offending while hidden in plain sight,” she said, adding of the 18 known victims: “It is likely that this just a small percentage of the children Dunleavy has abused.”
