Chalkie White, a survivor by former swimming coach, George Gibney has said that he feels a sense of vindication following yesterday's verdicts.
Disgraced ex swimming coach, George Gibney was convicted over the sexual abuse of four young female swimmers, and the attempted rape one of the girls during the 1970s and 1980s.
Former national swimming champion, Chalkie White, who was also sexually abused by White when he was a child, said that it is a "big deal to be vindicated" by these verdicts in court.
Speaking about these convictions, White said: "I started swimming at seven, but I started to do well around eight, nine, and that's really then when I suppose he noticed my potential" (quotes according to RTÉ).
He added: "He became almost like a father figure to me, I was very young, so I wouldn't have really understood what was going on, except that here was a guy that was helping me, my swimming, helping me to be good".
Mr White said that over time, Gibney pushed these boundaries, with sex becoming involved. He added that he knew it was wrong.
He also revealed that he had confided in Gary O'Toole, an Olympic swimmer while on a plane to Australia. O'Toole, who had not been abused by Gibney himself, later approached other swimmers to see if they had been abused by Gibney.
At this point, things began to unravel for Gibney, with others also claiming that they had also been abused by him.
Overall, Mr Gibney was charged with 27 child sex offences. But he never stood trial for these offences after getting a court order to stop any prosecution due to the time which had elapsed.
Mr White went on to thank the four women who came forward in more recent years, saying "they saved us" in reference to those the original charges related to.
He said: "[Yesterday] those ladies really helped all of us to get some sort of satisfaction and I appreciate how brave they were coming forward".
The four survivors were also praised by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said they showed courage "following a long and courageous journey to justice".
George Gibney was originally charged on 79 counts of various sexual offences against children, but pleaded guilty to five of them before the trial. He pleaded not guilty to 73 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape against a young girl in that same time period.
He was found guilty on 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape, while the jury were instructed to return not guilty verdicts on 33 counts relating to two complainants.
The former swimming coach was remanded in custody by Mr Justice P O'Higgins, and will face sentencing on July 29.
The Dublin Rape Crisis welcomed this verdict, with Chief Executive Rachel Morrogh saying that it understands the "long, painful and incredibly courageous journey to justice taken by his victims", adding that Mr Gibney "exploited children who demonstrated sporting excellence" (quotes according to RTÉ).
