Three men who were sexually abused as young scouts by the same man have opened up about their horrific ordeals.
The men came forward for an RTE Investigates show, which airs tonight, that examines the abuse and cover-ups in Ireland’s scouting organisations.
All three were abused by convicted sexual predator and former scout leader David O’Brien.
Paul O’Toole was sexually abused by Mr O’Brien when he joined the Scouts in the 1970s.
He recalled the abuse while on a camping trip in Co Wicklow: “He was charming, was kinda quirky... He took kids like a pied piper on a bus and everyone trusted him.
“I was taken away under the auspice of looking for another camp site… And in the middle of nowhere there was this hut.
“And off he would go abusing... and you could scream all you want but there was a mile of pine trees in every direction.”
RTE Investigates research found that in the 1970s and 1980s Mr O’Brien moved between the Scouting Association of Ireland and the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland.
He set up a new troop in the same organisation in the mid 1970s and abused Dave Smyth who was just 10 years of age.
Mr Smyth said: “I woke up feeling a huge weight on my chest and realised he was on top of me and he put his hand into my sleeping bag and zipped it down, pulled down my pants and was playing with my genitals.
“I panicked then and froze and tried to move... and he held me down with right hand over my mouth and digitally penetrated me… his dirty nicotine stained fingers… I can still smell his hand on my mouth.”
Mr Smyth said he turned to alcohol when he was 11 years old and as a result of the abuse became suicidal and depressed.
Mr O’Brien and another leader targeted Colm Bracken, who said both men “shattered” and “killed” his soul.
Mr Bracken said: “One day I turned round and packed a bag, put a rope in it, Stanley blades and I said 'that’s it, no more'.
"I can’t do it any more and that’s it, I’ll do away with myself.
“And ironically my phone rang and it was my 10-year-old son, and he saved my life.”
A parent from one troop complained to the leadership of the Scouting Association of Ireland about Mr O’Brien who was removed but not reported to Gardai.
He was then able to join another Catholic Boy Scouts troop where he continued abusing boys.
Much later in 1997, one of David O’Brien’s survivors formally reported him, but no prosecution followed.
It was only 15 years later in 2012, a wider Garda inquiry began after O’Brien admitted details of his abuse to a counsellor.
In 2015, David O’Brien was convicted of the indecent assault of Paul O’Toole, Dave Smyth and Colm Bracken and three others.
He received a four and a half year prison sentence. Last week he was convicted of the sexual assault of a further four people and received a six-and-a-half year sentence.
However, O’Brien admitted abusing many more.
The RTE Investigates team also found that a former scout leader who allegedly sexually preyed on boys for decades was only removed from the organisation last year.
Last December, Scouting Ireland wrote to the Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone stating that its ongoing review of historic complaints found evidence of “extensive prolonged and organised child sex abuse” and “abuse at all levels” in both Scouting organisations.
In response to queries by RTE Investigates relating to the abuse by David O’Brien, Scouting Ireland said it could not comment on individual cases.
In a statement Scouting Ireland said: “Since its inception in 2003, it has always reported all information on alleged sexual offences which has been brought to our safeguarding team’s attention to the appropriate authorities.”
The statement goes on to say that Scouting Ireland deeply regrets “the hurt caused to children through the unlawful and unacceptable actions of adults in these organisations”.
RTÉ Investigates - Scouts Dishonour will be broadcast tonight on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.
