LOCAL FAMILY OF ABUSED BOY EXPRESS DISGUST
Allen, once a prior in Drogheda, was sentenced to 12 months in prison in 1993 after abusing a 10-year-old altar boy at the time.The altar boy’s family has yet to receive any apology for the heinous crime.
They expressed their outrage on Thursday following Allen’s recent two-year suspended sentence for abusing two boys during his missionary work in Trinidad and Tobago between 1981 and 1985, prior to the Drogheda incidents.
The father of the now 19-year-old explained to the Drogheda Independent how Allen would bring gifts to his son’s home and invite him to Masses at Drogheda’s Dominican Church, where much of the abuse occurred.
The family also disclosed that they were offered money to drop the case against Allen.
Court proceedings earlier this week revealed that Allen had lured boys into playing a game involving holding their breath while he sexually assaulted them by fondling their genitals during the game.
The victim’s father stated on Thursday, ‘They never apologized for his abuse, despite the conviction.
It was almost like losing a family member.’ He added that he would never forgive Allen and criticized the church authorities for failing to issue an apology.
‘This case brings back memories.
The only thing it doesn’t do is surprise me, because I knew he had done it before,’ he said.
The father recounted how, when the abuse was exposed, a Dominican representative told him, ‘he (Allen) has let me down again.’ Family members connected with the Drogheda church community discovered Allen’s dark secret after the victim watched a documentary called ‘Sins of our Fathers’ about clerical abuse.
His mother advised him to always report any inappropriate touching.
Soon after, he revealed his suffering, exposing the betrayal of trust by the priest the family had viewed as a trusted figure.
Allen would often visit the family with presents, including a poster he offered to put up in the child’s room.
Suspicion grew when the child refused to attend a Mass that Allen was organizing.
The father reported the abuse to the Gardaí and insisted Allen leave Drogheda, which he did.
However, the humiliation continued when a church representative allegedly approached a family member with money, trying to prevent the case from proceeding.
Despite their suffering, the family has not received an apology from the church.
Now, the young man is employed, well-liked, and independent, with his family claiming that he does not let his past abuse affect his current life.
In the most recent case, Allen avoided imprisonment by paying £150,000 in compensation to the victims.
Judge Patrick McCartan commented that although Allen’s offenses were less severe, his actions had brought chaos and devastation in many aspects of the victims’ lives, shattering the trust placed in him.
