Priest: he came from good family
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Tuesday April 29 2008
A PRIEST sent a letter testifying that churchground rapist Richard Finn came from a good family -- despite it being a horrific crime on sacred ground.
It is understood the letter, handed to Mr Justice Paul Carney before yesterday's sentencing, came from a priest affiliated to the Sacred Heart Presbytery in Clondalkin, Dublin, and outlined Mr Finn's tragic past.
Finn was just 13 when his older brothers Alan and Emmet plunged to their deaths in a stolen car in the Grand Canal in January 1, 2000.
Last night, the presbytery defended the decision by a priest to provide the reference for Finn.
A colleague at the presbytery said: "I know the priest who wrote it, and he wrote the facts. He did not ask for mitigation."
He said the presbytery had already received one abusive phonecall on the matter.
But he insisted it was "normal" to provide such a letter and said it was provided in the interests of justice being done.
"The letter said he (Finn) comes from a decent family, had a good record in many ways, and had ADHD," said the priest.
"He did not dispute the guilt."
The colleague said he was aware of controversy in Cork last week after Labour TD Kathleen Lynch wrote a letter testifying to the good character of the family of another convicted rapist, Trevor Casey.
But the priest said that there was a place in the justice system for certain letters outlining an individual's background.
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre chief executive Ellen O'Malley Dunlop also said that while she believed it was "unacceptable" for a public representative like a TD to support a convicted person, the system did allow priests and others to come forward with support.
- Gareth Morgan
