A priest has been jailed for seven years for eight counts of historical indecent assault against four boys.
Canon Patrick McEntee, 71, from Esker Road in Dromore, County Tyrone, was described by the judge at Dungannon Crown Court as a “predatory paedophile” who abused children in his care.
The assaults dated back to the late 1970s through to the late 1980s and involved boys aged between 11 and 17.
McEntee, who was a teacher at St Michael’s College in Enniskillen, took the boys into his private quarters where some of them were made to sit on his knee or touched inappropriately.
Some of the victims were given sweets after he abused them.
McEntee had previously denied all the charges.
In June, he was convicted on four counts of indecent assault on one boy between 1988 and 1989.
He was also convicted on a single count of indecently assaulting a second male between 1980 and 1981.
He was convicted on a further three charges of indecent assault involving two boys between 1978 and 1987. He was acquitted on one charge of indecent assault against another boy.
In a statement, McEntee’s family said they are “hugely disturbed at his conviction in this case”.
They added: “We are unwavering in our belief in his innocence and we are unconditionally supportive of him as he continues to deal with the adverse consequences of his recent trial.”
