February 2019

Paedophile surgeon, 86, jailed for four years for sexually assaulting seven boys over three decades

A paedophile surgeon has been caged for four years after he was convicted of sexually assaulting seven boys over three decades.

Michael Shine, 86, of Ballsbridge, Dublin, appeared at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court at 1pm today.

During the short sentencing, which lasted just five minutes, Judge Martin Nolan told the court: “It is well decided by precedence that age is no bar to a prison sentence.”

The judge said that during the course of a four week trial Shine showed “no expression of remorse whatsoever”.

He added: “The defendant was a doctor at the time and in a position of trust.

Shine arrived to court alone this morning, dressed in suit trousers and beige jumper and anorak.

He wore a peaked cap which he removed as he walked slowly through a packed courtroom to take a seat in the dock.

On February 9 a jury found the disgraced doctor guilty of 13 indecent assaults committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth and at two private clinics in Drogheda on dates between 1971 to 1992.

On day 17 of the trial, a jury of two women and eight men returned guilty verdicts, having deliberated for just over six hours.

December 2017

Ex-surgeon jailed for sex assaults on children

A retired surgeon has been jailed for a year and eight months for sexually assaulting two teenage boys in the 1970s.

Michael Shine, 85, faced eight charges of indecently assaulting six patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and at his private clinic, both in Drogheda, Co Louth, between 1964 and 1991.

Last month he was convicted of three charges of assault on two teenage boys at Dublin circuit criminal court. He had denied all the allegations.

Note: Shine also owns a holiday home in Tipperary

November 2017

Perverted surgeon convicted of indecent assault on teenage patients

A jury has convicted retired consultant surgeon Michael Shine of indecently assaulting two young male patients in a hospital in the mid-70s.

Michael Shine (85) of Wellington Road, Dublin 4, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to eight charges of indecently assaulting six patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and at his private clinic, both in Drogheda, Co Louth, on dates between 1964 and 1991.

On Wednesday the jury of four men and eight women acquitted him of some of these charges.

On Thursday morning, having deliberated for just over six hours, the jury returned majority guilty verdicts on three outstanding counts of assaulting two teenage patients on dates between 1974 and 1976.

Shine had admitted attending to these patients but denied anything inappropriate was done during these medical examinations.

Giving evidence during the trial, he said that he would never do anything that would embarrass or upset a patient.

One victim testified that he was aged around 15 or 16 in 1976 when he attended at the hospital with an in growing toenail. He said Shine tied him to a bed with rubber bungee restraints and a blanket and then slipped his hand under the blanket and started massaging his testicles.

He said he knew it was weird but did not know if he could speak out because he was “just a young boy”.

The second victim testified that during two follow up examinations for undescended testes at Shine’s private clinic in Drogheda, Shine massaged the base of his penis.

The victim was in his mid-teens at the time and told the trial that he told himself for years that there was nothing improper about what the doctor did.

Judge Cormac Quinn remanded Shine on continuing bail until December 1st for sentencing. Shine had become unwell and arrangements were being made to take him to a GP but he was present when the jury delivered its verdicts just before midday.