Brother who sexually abused his three sisters while becoming priest jailed
Richard Brennan (64) previously of Rathfarnham, now living in the United States, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 24 counts against his three sisters, including 18 of indecent assault and six charges of rape.
He entered the guilty pleas after each of the three women had given evidence before a jury and before the final woman was about to be cross-examined.
He pleaded guilty to four sample charges of indecent assault and four rape charges against Paula Faye on dates between January 1978 and December 1981 when she was aged between 13 and 17 years old.
Richard Brennan. Pic: IrishPhotoDesk.ie
Brennan also pleaded guilty to 13 sample incidences of indecent assault and two charges of rape against a second sister, Catherine Wrightstone, on dates between June 1980 and December 1984 while she was aged between nine and 14 years old.
He finally pleaded guilty to indecent against the oldest of the sisters, Yvonne Crist, when she was about 20 years old on dates between June 1979 and June 1980.
Brennan was between 17 and 24 years old at time of the offending.
Brennan has no previous convictions. He was ordained as a priest in 1989 and moved to the US, but later married and had a family. He returned from the US for questioning and the trial.
Earlier this month, another brother Bernard Brennan, (67), formerly of Rathfarnham, Dublin, but most recently residing in the United States, was jailed for four and half years after he admitted to sexual abuse of both Yvonne Crist and Paula Faye.
Richard Brennan pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ). Pic: IrishPhotoDesk.ie
News in 90 Seconds - Monday July 14th
Bernard Brennan pleaded guilty to 11 counts of indecent assault in various locations within the State between 1972 and 1975. He has no previous convictions.
Sentencing Richard Brennan today Mr Justice David Keane said it was heartening to hear the three women in victim impact statement describe themselves as survivors.
The judge said the sisters had made the 'truly courageous' decision to report their brother's crimes to the gardaí.
Mr Justice Keane said he had the most 'immense admiration' for the determination shown by the three women in bringing the case before the courts and hoped that they would get something from their brother's 'belated acceptances of guilt'. He wished them well for the future.
Mr Justice Keane said the aggravating features of the case included the particularly young ages of both Ms Faye and Ms Wrightstone at the time of the abuse against them and the fact that the abuse occurred in a place where the sisters should have felt secure. Instead, Brennan created an environment of fear and confusion, he said.
The judge also took into account the fact that there was a pattern of frequent assaults against the younger two sisters over a lengthy period of time and that Brennan was a seminarian at the time, with particular familial responsibilities to his younger sisters.
Finally, Mr Justice Keane said there were three separate victims in the case who each have been psychologically damaged and that Brennan caused each of them significant harm.
He set headline sentences of 12 years for the rapes committed against Ms Wrightstone, and headline sentences of 10 years for the rapes committed against Ms Faye. He set headline sentences of six years against the indecent assaults against Ms Wrightstone and headline sentences of 21 months and 18 months for the indecent assaults against Ms Faye and Ms Crist.
Mr Justice Keane said he must take into consideration mitigation including what he said was a late plea entered on the ninth day of the trial. He acknowledged that Brennan has shown deep remorse and that he has apologised to each of his victim. Read more
He said Brennan was also entitled to significant credit for his lack of previous convictions and the fact that he co-operated with gardaí.
Mr Justice Keane said he accepted evidence that Brennan appears to have been present during some incidences of abuse carried out by his brother Bernard Brennan on both Ms Faye and Ms Crist.
He said he was also taking into account the character evidence given during the sentence hearing by Brennan's wife and testimonials handed into court by a number of other people.
Mr Justice Keane imposed a term of nine years for the rape offences carried out by Brennan against Ms Wrightstone. He imposed concurrent terms of seven and half years for the rape offences committed against Ms Faye and four and half years for the indecent assaults against Ms Wrightstone.
He imposed further concurrent terms of 16 months and 14 months for the indecent assault offences committed against Ms Faye and Ms Crist. A global sentence of nine years was backdated to March 18 last when Brennan first went into custody.
Mr Justice Keane noted that a report from the Probation Service indicated that Brennan is willing to engage with offence focused work as deemed suitable by them and said he must 'consider the prospect of rehabilitation' upon his ultimate release from prison.
He suspended the final 12 months of the nine-year term on condition that Brennan engage with the Probation Service for a year upon his release. He did not impose a post release supervision order after acknowledging that Brennan intends to return to the States when he leaves Ireland.
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Ms Wrightstone, a licensed psychotherapist, stressed she was not seeking 'vengeance' but wanted recognition of the harm and lasting impact of the crimes on her life, 'and the immense courage it took to come forward as a child, a teenager and then as an adult'. She wanted, 'most important of all', her voice to matter 'because, for too long, it did not'. Catherine Wrightstone. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times While recognising the court has limited power to address the 'widespread systemic issue of sexual violence against young girls and women', it has power 'to show that the gross injustice of these types of acts will not be tolerated', she said. 'Thankfully, the Ireland of the 1980s is not the same as the Ireland of 2025.' The damage done by childhood sexual abuse and rape is 'a lifelong sentence of emotional pain, broken trust, and an ongoing struggle to reclaim safety and self-worth'. In her statement, Ms Fay said she was a child with 'no voice, no power, and no sense of worth', whose world was 'shaped by overwhelming fear'. This justice is not just for me, but for all those who have endured such pain and fought to be heard. Today I truly am a survivor — Paula Fay She was 17 when she finally broke free from this 'relentless' sexual abuse, having endured at least 10 years of it, beginning at just six or seven years old at the hands of Bernard and carried on through the rest of her childhood by Richard. The 'psychological torment' did not end with the abuse – it affected her mental, emotional and physical health. However, she was 'immensely proud' of the woman she has become, 'of her strength, resilience, and unwavering spirit'. The sisters' journey had been 'long and arduous'. The Director of Public Prosecutions' decision to press charges 'felt like an eternity', with legal obstacles between the women 'and the chance to finally speak our truth'. Ms Fay hoped her brother's sentence reflected the severity of his crimes 'and brings accountability long overdue'. 'This justice is not just for me, but for all those who have endured such pain and fought to be heard. Today I truly am a survivor.' In her statement via video link from the US, Ms Crist, a widowed mother of two, said she has recurring nightmares of the night Richard, aged 18, tried to sexually assault her, aged 20, as she slept. She was 'terrified' of his strength and regretted not calling gardaí then 'as you wouldn't have been able to continue your sexual behaviours towards my sisters'. He made her feel she was 'a filthy piece of dirt' who 'did not deserve to live'. [ Sisters lost half their family after reporting sexual abuse by older cousin, court hears Opens in new window ] She had overcome anorexia that developed in her teens but developed a mental illness at the age of 28, leading to extensive treatment over years. Her serious bouts of mental illness 'prove that incest lasts a lifetime'. Music was 'my saving grace' and her singing career helped take her away 'from my troubled self'. 'Now I can function very well, I survived and I am a survivor,' she said. Her message was: 'Never doubt and survive because you are so worth it. Life does get better.' On Monday, Richard Brennan was jailed for a total of eight years after admitting to indecently assault of three of his sisters and raping two of them when they were minors.
