Former manager of Daughters of Charity family centre jailed for four years  

By Eimear Dodd 

A former manager of a Daughters of Charity family centre in Dublin has been jailed for four years for sexually abusing his nephew 30 years ago. 

Paul Craven (55) was convicted last year of 11 counts, including sexual assault and indecent assault on dates between 1989 and 1999. 

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court previously heard that the complainant Alan Jenkins wished to waive his anonymity to allow Craven, of Meadow View, Sarsfield Road, Dublin 10, to be named. 

Craven had a long history of youth work, most recently as a manager of family centres run by the Daughters of Charity in the north and southwest of Dublin. 

The court previously heard that the abuse primarily involved inappropriate touching.

It took place in the grandparents’ home, where the victim was living following the death of his parents, and later in Craven’s own home. 

In the first incident – which occurred when the victim was six or seven – Craven took his hand and guided it to his genital area, where he had concealed playing cards. 

Imposing a global sentence of four years yesterday, Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin said Craven had breached the trust of a “little vulnerable boy who was only six or seven” when he started to groom and abuse him. 

She said it was an aggravating factor that the abuse took place in the victim’s home, which should have been a place of safety.

The judge said the length of time over which the abuse occurred and the age disparity were further aggravating factors. 

The judge said Craven’s offending has had longstanding effects on Mr Jenkins, as outlined in his victim impact statement. 

She said Craven used his position “in the family to isolate him” and  “used your qualification and employment to undermine his self confidence”. 

 The judge noted Craven’s personal circumstances and the mitigation were outlined to the court.

She said several “glowing references” were also provided, which showed that Craven is held in “high regard” by colleagues and friends. 

However, Judge Ní Chúlacháin also said it is also relevant that Craven does not accept his guilt and has not expressed remorse. 

In a victim statement previously read to the court by his daughter Sophie, Mr Jenkins said he had been “very vulnerable” when the abuse started, and Craven used this to his advantage. 

He said Craven “took away my childhood, my teenage years, my young adulthood, but now I have my justice, and people will know what he has done to me and will know that justice has prevailed”. 

He described the criminal process as a “living nightmare”.

He said the jury’s verdicts meant he could “try and move on from this chapter in my life, although I’ll always bear the scars and the emotional turmoil that Paul Craven put me through”. 

Addressing Craven directly, Mr Jenkins’s said Craven had used his job working with children to help “abuse me”. 

“You presented yourself as an expert in your field, a man who walked alongside men of God, a man who told me that he had saved the lives of delinquent boys, a man who nobody questioned.” 

He said Craven was his mother’s brother and should have protected him, but instead “chose to abuse that trust and do things of a sexual nature to him”. 

“This court will define your penalty for your wrongs, and that will be for a specific period of time.

“However, you will never be forgiven by me or my sister, and you will definitely never be forgiven by our mother.” 

Mr Jenkins said he made a complaint to gardai and Tusla and felt “very aggrieved” that Tusla found the allegations he had made against Craven “unfounded”. 

He added that the agency “used the same statement that the Director of Public Prosecutions used” to bring charges against Craven. He said Tusla “never spoke” to other witnesses who gave statements. 

“To find the allegation unfounded without looking at the facts and by simply interviewing Paul Craven shows that the investigation you conducted was flawed and, in fact, a farce,” Mr Jenkins said, adding that Craven “used this finding to further shame me and make me out to be a liar”. 

He said efforts he and his sister made to contact Tusla in light of the charges and Craven’s conviction have been “ignored”, and Craven “remained working with vulnerable children”. 

Defence counsel told the court that these allegations meant Craven’s career could not continue.

He worked most recently as a centre manager at family centres run by the Daughters of Charity until 2022, the court heard. 

Craven was interviewed as part of the garda investigation and denied the allegations. He also gave evidence on his own behalf during the trial. He has no previous convictions.  

The investigating garda agreed with defence counsel that Craven has not come to any other negative attention and that he voluntarily attended an interview with gardai. 

 Craven was remanded on bail following a previous hearing in order to sign contracts as part of a house purchase.  

 Today, Kathleen Leader SC, defending, told the court that the purchase had been completed. 

 A number of testimonials were handed to the court on Craven’s behalf including from a former colleague who also worked with the Daughters of Charity. 

 Ms Leader said Craven’s wife was in court to support him. 

Craven has a long work history, primarily in youth work.

Ms Leader told the court her client worked with the Daughters of Charity between 2009 and 2022, and in other youth work roles before this. 

Counsel submitted that these offences, while serious, are not at the top of the scale for offending of this kind and that no other allegations have been  made against her client. 

She also asked the court to take into account her client’s work history, his co-operation with the investigation and the absence of previous convictions.