A Scottish priest who repeatedly kissed and fondled a sleeping train passenger told rail staff who confronted him that he was merely ‘affirming him’.
Father Daniel Doherty, 61, was observed fondling the snoozing railway user in front of a young family after the ‘much younger’ passenger passed out from drinking.
The victim later alleged that Fr. Doherty had put his hands inside his trousers.
Appearing before Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, Doherty, who is the parish priest at St Francis Xavier Church in Falkirk, admitted to three counts of sexual assault.
Lasting roughly an hour, Sarah Smith, the fiscal depute, told the court how members of the public watched on in shock.
In light of the incident and his charging, Fr. Doherty voluntarily withdrew himself from active ministry and has now been placed on the sex offenders register.
The 61-year-old clergyman’s actions prompted a ‘profound apology’ from the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, who also commended the victim for his bravery in coming forward.
Describing the incident in detail, the prosecutor told the court how the complainant had fallen asleep next to Fr. Doherty after a day of heavy drinking.
Awoken suddenly by the clergyman placing his hand down the victim’s trousers, the priest ‘grabbed his penis’ and did so on a further three occasions over the course of the journey.
Seated in a carriage with multiple children, ranging in ages from 5 to 16 years old, Fr. Doherty was also observed ‘kissing the complainer on the face and lips’ and ‘holding his foot and rubbing it’.
The behaviour continued as Fr. Doherty grabbed the victim’s genitals over his clothing, before a concerned onlooker alerted the British Transport Police and train staff.
Responding to the incident, the train manager arrived on the scene and spoke to Fr. Doherty, who when questioned, said; ‘We are just friends’ and ‘I was affirming him’.
In Catholicism, affirming can be taken as referring to the support or reassurance of someone through physical or verbal statements.
Upon arrival in Edinburgh, the victim and Fr. Doherty were met by police, but the victim was not able to officially report the incident until a later date due to Fr. Doherty’s presence nearby.
After reporting the train incident, the victim went on to accuse of the clergyman of two other abusive acts.
On both of these occasions, the victim was again asleep and awoken by Fr. Doherty’s fondling of him.
Speaking before the court, Doherty’s solicitor, Gordon Martin, stated his client’s apology for the distress caused to the victim, his parish and the Catholic Church as a whole.
The case has now been adjourned until November 26th to obtain a criminal justice social work report and restriction of liberty order assessment.