A former Christian brother who would “lick” his pupils ears while sexually abusing them in class, has been found guilty by a jury of 15 counts of indecent assault.

James Treacy (75), with an address at Ashford Close, Swords, Dublin, showed no emotion as a jury at Limerick Circuit Court found him guilty, by unanimous decision, of abusing three male victims.

The court heard evidence from the victims, who were aged ten years old and in fifth class at the time.

The victims said he would abuse them in front of one another while he taught a “military style” class. His modus operandi, the court heard, was to place his hands down the front of the boys trousers and fondle their privates.

One victim told the court: “It was a military style class. What I mean by that is that we had to be neat and clean; Our hair had to be cut and we had to clean our ears, and if you’re ears weren’t clean, he would actually lick your ears.”

Another victim told the court he would be in “a panic” at home before going to school for fear of being targeted again by Treacy.

A third victim also broke down several times in court as he described Treacy abusing him in “full view of the class”. The court heard the victim’s did not tell anyone about the abuse until they were contacted by gardaí in 2007 investigating allegations about Treacy. “I locked it to the back of my mind. That’s where I wanted it to stay,” the man said.

To protect the identities of the victim’s, the court ordered restrictions on identifying the school where the abuse occurred.

Treacy denied all the charges which related to offences which occurred in the late 1970s.

Treacy was also convicted last month at Limerick Circuit Court of two further counts of indecent assault on a boy at a school in the 1970s.

The court heard evidence that, after abusing some of the boys, Treacy brought them as a treat to meet his brother, the late Republic of Ireland soccer star Ray Treacy — who had no knowledge of the abuse — at a celebrity sports event.

The victim in last month’s case told the court how “Brother Treasaigh (Treacy)” gagged his mouth with a bar of soap and raped him over a urinal. He said Treacy also burnt his genitals with a cigarette after catching him smoking in the school toilet.

Treacy was remanded on continuing bail for sentencing on all matters on June 30th.