Support group referred people to the gardai
TRIAL CONTINUES OF RETIRED SURGEON AS ALLEGED VICTIMS GIVE HARROWING EVIDENCE
THE trial of a retired surgeon accused of groping a number of boys in his care has heard that a support group for victims of medical abuse referred people to gardaí.
Michael Shine (86) of Ballsbridge, Dublin has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to thirteen charges of indecent assault allegedly committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth and at two private clinics in Drogheda.
On the seventh day of the trial, Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told the court that he had no dealings with the support group Dignity 4 Patients, but that he was aware it had referred people to gardaí.
Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, asked Det Gda Nolan if this case was unusual due to there being an “active campaign” carried out by Dignity 4 Patients. The detective replied that Dignity 4 Patients was a support group for victims of medical abuse and that “campaign was your word”.
Det Gda Nolan said he knew the complainants saw advertisements about Dignity 4 Patients holding meetings. He said that gardaí did not attend these meetings.
He told the court he did not think what may have been said by solicitors at the meetings was relevant as gardaí deal with criminal prosecutions and not civil matters. He said he never looked at the group’s website.
Det Gda Nolan said that he had met with Mr Shine after the complainants in this trial made statements to gardaí and that Mr Shine had prepared a statement in which he denied all allegations.
He told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that each of the complainants in this case had given consent for the release of any documents held by Dignity 4 Patients relating to them for the purpose of this trial.
A number of men gave evidence last week of alleged incidents involving Mr Shine.
On the sixth day of the trial, a man told Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that Mr Shine masturbated his penis during an examination in 1975 when he was aged 13. The court heard that examination took place following surgery by Mr Shine on his testicles.
The witness told Mr Hartnett that his father brought him to the examination, but he was not in the room with him while it was carried out.
The man said that he began experiencing “flashbacks” to the incident after making a complaint to gardaí. He said he had never told anyone about the incident aside from his wife until he gave a statement to gardaí.
The man said that the incident had never left his memory and he had “tried to get on with” his life. He said that when he gave a statement to gardaí he had to bring the memories to the forefront of his mind and that it was a traumatic experience.Mr Hartnett asked the man if he had a long history of abusing alcohol and he replied that he probably drank more than is recommended. He added that if that was what constituted alcohol abuse then it was “safe to say I do have an abusive relationship with alcohol”.
He refuted Mr Hartnett’s suggestion that he was incorrect in his assertion that Mr Shine had masturbated his penis, saying that it “categorically did happen”.
The man told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that he did not object to Mr Shine examining his testicles as this was the area that Mr Shine had performed surgery on.
On the fifth day of the trial, a man told Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, that Mr Shine performed surgery on his appendix at Lourdes hospital in 1971 when he was aged 13.
The man said that he attended an appointment with Mr Shine around a week after being discharged from hospital at Lawrence Street Clinic, Drogheda. He said his father wanted to go into the examination room with him but he was prevented by Mr Shine.
He said that Mr Shine asked him to pull up his shirt and jumper and to loosen his trousers while he was lying on an examination couch. He said Mr Shine briefly pressed around the wound on his side with his hands.
The man said that Mr Shine then moved further down and felt his “privates”. He said Mr Shine fondled his testicles in his hand and then began stroking his penis.
He said he asked why his privates were being examined and that Mr Shine said he needed to check that nothing was damaged. He said this came to an end when Mr Shine said that the examination was finished and that he could get dressed.
“I got out of there are quick as I could,” the man said. He said he attended a second appointment at the clinic around two weeks later after his stitches had been removed.
He said that Mr Shine did not pay much attention to his wound during the second appointment and that he again fondled his testicles and stroked his penis. He said he felt very embarrassed and could not wait to get out of there.
The man told Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that when he heard about clerical abuse years later it brought back the alleged offences to his mind. He agreed that he never told anyone about what he says Mr Shine did until he saw publicity in the media.
“I was glad that I wasn’t the only one, for 38 years I thought I was the only one,” the man said.
Another man told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that Mr Shine performed surgery on his testicles at Lourdes hospital in 1975 when he was aged 13 and that he attended a follow-up appointment at Fair Street Clinic, Drogheda, around four weeks later.
The man said his father waited outside the examination room and that Mr Shine asked him to lay down on a couch. He said that Mr Shine pulled his trousers and underwear down to his knees and placed a paper towel on his exposed stomach.
He said that Mr Shine first examined his testicles and then took his penis in his hand and began to masturbate it. He said that this continued for around 10 to 15 minutes.
The man said he was “somewhat taken aback” afterwards and he was unsure whether what happened had been a normal part of the examination.
On the fourth day of the trial, a man told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that he began experiencing stomach cramps when he was 10 years old. He was aged around 11 when later referred to Mr Shine at Lourdes hospital in early 1974.
The man said he was brought into a room by a nurse and left on his own with Mr Shine. He was asked to undress down to his underpants and put on a hospital gown so that he could be examined.
He said that Mr Shine first examined his throat, torso and abdomen, before taking his underpants down and placing one hand on his penis and one hand on his scrotum and “palpitated” them both.
“I looked at a spot on the ceiling because I found it most uncomfortable,” the man said. He said the defendant groped his testicles and it felt as though he was pulling his foreskin down.
The man told the court that he was aged 19 in 1982 when he was admitted to hospital with meningitis. He said that he woke up in hospital one day to discover Mr Shine had his hand on his penis and that he was ‘masturbating me.’
The man agreed with Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, that he had brought civil proceedings relating to the alleged offences and said that the proceedings had concluded in 2012.
Mr Hartnett asked the witness if he drank much alcohol and he answered he was proud to say that he had not drank since 2004. He totally refuted Mr Hartnett’s suggestion that none of what he had described had happened and that he was mistaken in his recollection of events.