SCANDAL OF THE ‘DISAPPEARED’ SEX OFFENDERS

Gardaí can’t trace more than 250 convicts who broke their release terms

MORE than 250 convicted rapists, paedophiles and other sex offenders have disappeared or broken the terms of their release, the I ri sh Daily Mail can reveal.

The sex convicts quit their registered addresses without telling gardaí – or left the country, either on holidays or to emigrate.

Some have disappeared altogether and have not been tracked down, leading to concerns over their exact whereabouts.

Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman, said of the situation: ‘It is very worrying to learn that such a huge number of sex offenders are at large and not traceable.’

Figures compiled for the Mail by the Central Statistics Office show that 256 criminals have breached the Sex Offenders Act between 2010 and March 31 this

year, but the CSO figures don’t say how many are still at large or provide a breakdown of the exact nature of the breaches.

Some 1, 200 r eleased sex offenders are required to tell gardaí where they are living – and inform the authorities if they move, even on holidays.

If they fail to do so, they can end up with a five-year jail term. Criminals convicted of sex offences since 2001 are placed on the Sex Offenders Register and are monitored by gardaí after release. In most cases, they are not actively monitored but must supply gardaí with an address.

Anyone convicted before 2001 is not monitored.

The notorious Larry Murphy, who kidnapped and repeatedly raped a Carlow woman, was convicted in 2001 and was therefore monitored. Gardaí and the Probation Service were aware when he left Ireland and assisted with his move abroad.

However, it is taken on a caseby-case basis – in most circumstances offenders are permitted to leave the country but they must inform gardaí who in turn inform the local police in the country where they are moving to so they can continue to be

Must tell gardaí when moving

monitored. The number of sex offenders breaching the terms of their release began a marked increase in 2010 and has continued since then. In 2004, just one sex offender breached conditions.

That number rose to 24 in 2009 and in 2010 doubled to 50. In 2011, the number rose to an alltime high of 59, and 49 sex offenders broke the terms of their release in 2012.

In 2013, the number fell to 39 while it was on the rise again last year, to 42. In the first quarter of this year up to March 31, 17 sex offenders breached the terms of their release.

Since 2010 and until the first quarter of this year, 256 individuals disappeared or broke the terms of their release.

Ellen O’Malley Dunlop, of the Dublin Rape Crisis Network, said ‘a concern’ if sex offenders are disappearing but she also praised gardaí from the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Investigation Unit, tasked with monitoring sex offenders.

She added: ‘The DVSAIU have had their resources increased in recent months. This is very welcome and they do great work.’ Ms O’Malley Dunlop added that there should be more programmes for sex offenders when they are released.

She said: ‘It is important that they are managed properly in the community. They need housing, work and adequate postrelease supervision. One would hope that the ones who have broken the terms of their release are on the low end of the scale in terms of offences.

‘I do believe that gardaí are up to speed with monitoring high- risk sex offenders.’

Mr Collins, Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman, said of the situation: ‘I would call on the Minister for Justice to address this as a matter of priority.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said they could not comment on the matter at this time. ÷The