A former school chaplain and the secondary school he taught at have been ordered to pay legal costs estimated at €750,000 after the High Court found he had sexually abused a female student. She said that during a school trip to Gambia, when she was 16, he invited her and another student to sleep in his bed with him. Aggravated damagesIn a judgment last October Mr Justice Robert Eagar found the former chaplain physically and sexually assaulted, falsely imprisoned and sexually abused the woman, who was in transition year when the abuse began. It dismissed an additional vicarious-liability claim against the local bishop, as the Catholic Church had not directly employed the man as a school chaplain or teacher. Church not liableAfter a further hearing on liability, Mr Justice Eagar on Friday awarded costs to the woman against the man and the school.

Source: The Irish Times January 19, 2018 19:18 UTC