A LAY official in the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland pleaded guilty yesterday to 17 sex offences against boys.
At Downpatrick Crown Court, Judge Anthony Hart deferred sentence on Joseph Fegan (66), a sexton at St Patrick's Church in Downpatrick, Co Down, to allow him to be medically examined. But he warned Fegan it was "highly probable" he would receive a jail sentence.
Fegan, of Market Street, Downpatrick, faced trial on 15 counts of indecent assault and two of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.
He admitted the offences against four boys over a 23 year period from September 1966 to June 1989.
