Almost 50 sex offenders in community considered 'high risk' of reoffending
Total 157 Stock Convicted In Offenders Of Sex Are Munities The Country Across Living Picture A
A total of 157 convicted sex offenders are living in communities across the country under the supervision of a multi-agency risk-management programme, according to the latest figures.
Some 48 of the convicts are classified as posing a “high” or “very high” risk of reoffending under the Sex Offender Risk Assessment and Management (SORAM) programme.
The offenders, whose crimes include rape, buggery and defilement of a child, are aged between 18 and 75. The vast majority of convicts in the scheme – 155 – are men, and just two are women.
Just over 30% - some 48 - were located in Dublin at the beginning of this year, according to the latest SORAM annual report, which was obtained under a freedom of information request.
Almost one-in-four (39) were free to walk the streets in communities in the south-eastern Garda region, which is comprised of counties Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, and Tipperary.
One-in-six (26) were based in the southern Garda region, which encompasses counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick, while 19 SORAM sex offenders were living in counties Wicklow, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Meath and Westmeath.
Some 16 convicts were spread across the northern Garda region of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan, and Louth; and the remaining nine offenders were located in counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Roscommon and Longford.
A total of seven SORAM sex offenders were not subject to notification requirements, meaning that they are not obliged to advise gardaí if they change address or travel anywhere for longer than a week.
This is because the offence of which they were convicted was not a scheduled sexual offence, or the notification period in respect of their crime had expired.
The victims of the SORAM sex offenders include 57 girls, 22 boys, 36 women, and one man. Around 30 of the cases involved child abuse imagery, including possession, production or distribution of such material.
SORAM is comprised of representatives from An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, Tusla, and local authority housing bodies. It aims to manage the risk posed to communities by convicted sex offenders.
“SORAM provides a structure for joint working arrangements to manage the risk posed by convicted sex offenders in the community on a multi-agency basis,” said a Garda spokeswoman.
“It ensures that sex offenders who are subject to SORAM are appropriately risk assessed, and effective management plans are prepared and implemented.”
The spokeswoman added that local SORAM teams have continued the supervision and management of sex offenders in line with HSE guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The teams have continued to meet, albeit in a remote capacity, on a regular basis every six to eight weeks to discuss SORAM cases and prepare risk management plans,” she said.