DISGRACED former swimming coach Ger Doyle expressed no remorse for his actions as he was sentenced at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court last week.

Doyle, originally from Emmet Place in Wexford town, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison by Judge Alice Doyle at the sitting.

The 49-year-old had been convicted by a jury in November on 35 charges involving boys.

Judge Doyle said that he had breached the trust of children under his care and that of their parents: 'He used his position to sexually assault these children; for that is what they were at the time – children. These crimes were carefully planned. They required secrecy. These children were put under pressure to keep these crimes a secret.'

She said that having to give evidence in the six-day trial caused further trauma to Doyle's victims. THE FORMER Irish Olympic and national swimming coach who sexually and indecently assaulted five boys aged between 10 and 15 years under his care at New Ross Swimming Pool was sentenced to six and a half years in prison by Judge Alice Doyle at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court.

49-year-old Ger Doyle, of 7 Emmett Place, Wexford town, who rose through swimming ranks to become Irish and Olympic team coach, was convicted in Wexford Circuit Court in November by a jury of six men and six women on 35 offences involving five boys aged 10 to 15 years old at New Ross Swimming Pool between January 1981 and December 1993. The jury returned a unanimous verdict on the sexual assault charge and 32 indecent assault charges, with majority verdicts on the two remaining indecent assault charges.

Prosecuing counsel Rod O'Hanlon told the court that there were five different complainants who were aged between 10 and 15 years when the incidents started.

Sergeant Mary Murphy said that after the boys were brought into the defendant's office, Doyle took measurements of their shoulders, waists, legs and then their penises. One of the victims, she said, was not involved in the swimming club.

The victim not involved in the swimming club was caught robbing money, and the defendant told him in his office that he could accept his punishment or the gardai would be called. He was brought to the boiler house where his pants were pulled down. He was put across the defendant's knee and slapped on the backside. He was told to come back the following Monday which he did, because he was afraid, but when Doyle saw the bruises on his backside he was told to pull his pants back up.

Sergeant Murphy also told the court of another complainant having been sexually abused at the swimming pool and brought into the manager's office where Doyle touched and measured the boy's penis. He also showed the complainant how to masturbate while the defendant attempted to masturbate himself.

In a victim impact report, said Sergeant Murphy, it came across that every aspect of his life continues to be affected and he has certain anger over what happened.

Another complainant, said Sergeant Murphy, spoke of being brought into the manager's office, where he had his togs pulled down and his penis touched by the defendant. What appeared also to be occurring was the defendant masturbating against him. While this complainant did not prepare a victim impact report he continued to suffer panic attacks and blamed this on what happened at the swimming pool. His reason for not preparaing a victim impact report is that he had given evidence and would now leave sentence up to the judge.

Sergeant Murphy told the court that other complainants recalled being brought to the manager's office, where they had their penises measured and were ordered to take down their togs. One of these complainants is receiving counselling at the moment and suffered from alcohol and drug addiction as a result of what happened to him, while others in the preparations of reports appeared to have been significantly affected by what had happened to them. Defence counsel John O'Kelly said the defendant's parents are dead and that he is one of four children – he has a twin brother, while another of his brothers had died. He said the defendant is a man who had suffered from ill-health during that period, and suffered from leukaemia which led to heart problems. He became manager of New Ross Swimming Pool at the age of 19 years having worked as a lifeguard from where he brought the club from obscurity to provincial and national success.

Mr. O'Kelly said the defendant was national coach for the Sydney Olympics but had to pull out through serious illness. He was reappointed Olympic Coach in 2004 for the Athens Olympics and his record as a coach had been very impressive.

The defendant, he said, is single, with no previous convictions.

'This is a terrible fall from grace,' said Mr. O'Kelly, adding that his client had gone from being a national figure to 'a pariah'.

'He now found himself in a position where everything he has achieved has been destroyed. I ask the court to take into consideration this man's years of hard work and the fact he does not have any prior convictions,' said Mr. O'Kelly.

He added: 'He [Doyle] is finding it very difficult in prison. He's a man who has never smoked and is now living in a smoke-filled environment despite the best efforts of the prison authorities. While he had made a good recovery from two very severe lifethreatening conditions he's finding prison life considerably difficult.'

Judge Doyle said the accused carried out these sexual offences over a ten-year period.

Judge Doyle also said that he had breached the trust of children under his care and that of their parents.

'He used his position to sexually assault these children; for that is what they were at the time – children. These crimes were carefully planned. They required secrecy. These children were put under pressure to keep these crimes a secret.'

She said having to give evidence in the sixday trial caused further trauma to Doyle's victims.