'MONSTER OFF THE STREETS'

Bill Kenneally is jailed as his abuse victims seek accountability.
Four men who were sexually abused by Bill Kenneally hope that the former basketball coach’s conviction on Friday last will pave the way for others who may have suffered at his hands to contact the Gardaí.
Jason Clancy, Colin Power, Barry Murphy and Kevin Keating, who were among a group of 10 youths abused by Kenneally as teenage boys between 1984 and 1987, waived their anonymity and relievingly spoke about “a monster that’s been taken off the streets”.
Speaking to RTE’s Joe Duffy after the verdict on Friday last, Kevin Keating stated: “We know there’s more (who have been abused) – there’s no doubt about it. For the record, I hope today, and the coverage that it’s getting will prove to people that there is a fantastic support network there…and anyone that’s out there who is going through this, whether it is due to this man or any other person, just believe me when I say this: you are not alone.”
And victims are now anxious to establish why an investigation into Kenneally’s activities wasn’t conducted, despite a verbal admission Kenneally himself made to Gardaí regarding “untoward activity” in 1987.

This involved a teenage boy who didn’t feature in last week’s proceedings at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court; however, the boy’s family made no complaint and the Gardaí, in the absence of such a complaint, didn’t take a formal statement from Kenneally at the time.
Said Colin Power: “Things are just going to unfold (and) we want some accountability. There is a question of what road we have to take to get that accountability. It is a matter open to discussion.”
At Waterford Circuit Criminal Court, Bill Kenneally pleaded guilty to 10 sample counts of indecent assault against 10 teenage boys and was jailed for 14 years and two months by Judge Eugene O’Kelly.