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Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Notorious rapist who was member of The General's gang is released from prison
He walked out of the jail just before midday after serving a six month sentence for not notifying gardai of his whereabouts. Gangland rapist Stephen 'Rossi' Walsh is back on the streets after being released from the Midlands Prison earlier today. He walked out of the jail just before midday after serving a six month sentence for not notifying gardai of his whereabouts. Ahead of his release, the Sunday World reported that Rossi had still not provided authorities with an address. The 78-year-old – one of Ireland's most notorious criminals and paedophiles was not obliged to give the Prison Service an address but he must provide gardaí with one within the next three days. Under the terms the Sex Offenders Act, Walsh is obliged to notify gardaí of his name, date of birth and home address within three days of his jail release. Part of his release conditions mean he's on the Sex Offenders Register for life. Stephen 'Rossi' Walsh in 2010. Picture: Collins News in 90 Seconds - Wednesday, July 30 Walsh, a former member of Martin 'The General' Cahill's gang, was released from the Midlands Prison in November after he served almost 15 years for sexual attacks on two little girls. But the convicted rapist was returned to the same prison in late January after it emerged that he had been living rough and had failed to notify gardaí of his whereabouts. He was given a six month sentence by Trim District Court in Co Meath which he has now completed. A nationwide garda alert is in place for the OAP who is still considered a danger to children. Two months ago it emerged that Walsh sent a letter to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris demanding officers be sent into the Midlands Prison to probe what he has described as his 'unlawful' detention there. Walsh said he had to post a letter to 'file a criminal complaint by writing to the office of the Garda Commissioner for assistance in gaining access to a garda member or members by way of a professional visit at the Midlands Prison so that I can file a criminal complaint.' He also took a habeas corpus' proceedings in the High Court aimed at having his renewed period of detention declared illegal amid claims that he is a 'financially unsound' person. According to court records, his application to have his incarceration declared unlawful by the High Court was refused on April 11. Walsh was jailed for 10 years in February 2010 for raping Ruth Dunne when she was nine. He received another identical sentence the following year for sexually assaulting another child. He raped Ms Dunne when she was nine. She bravely waived her right to anonymity to expose his horrific crimes. Walsh cynically exploited his friendship with her family to gain access to her by pretending to take her to play with one of his daughters. He targeted Ms Dunne on Dublin's Sandymount Beach when she was just nine. The other victim was aged only 14 when she was targeted by the notorious paedophile. During the trial the victim said she was first introduced to Walsh, a friend of her father's, when she was in sixth class. He became a regular visitor to her home and in July 2008, when she was 14, he moved in permanently. Within a month he tried to rape her, and just weeks later he succeeded in doing so. Walsh has a string of previous convictions including arson, armed robbery, assault and larceny.
Sunday World
15-07-2025
- Sunday World
Gangland rapist Stephen ‘Rossi' Walsh faces being sent back to jail within days of release
One of Ireland's most notorious criminals will walk free from the Midlands Prison in a fortnight Rapist and gang member Stephen 'Rossi' Walsh faces being put back in prison within days of his release at the end of this month if he continues to fail to provide an address to authorities. The 78-year-old – one of Ireland's most notorious criminals – will walk free from the Midlands Prison in a fortnight. Walsh, a former member of Martin 'The General' Cahill's gang, was released from the prison in November after he served almost 15 years for sexual attacks on two little girls. But the paedophile was returned to the jail in late January after it emerged that he had been living rough and had failed to notify gardaí of his whereabouts. Under the terms of the Sex Offenders Act, Walsh was legally obliged to notify authorities of any change of address and he has been in the Midlands Prison since being placed back in custody after appearing at Trim District Court. A nationwide garda alert is now in place for Walsh's release and he will be monitored by officers after his release. 'The prison authorities have no power in this matter as he will have served every day of the five-month sentence imposed on him earlier this year for breaching the act,' a source revealed. 'Once he is released, it will be for the gardaí to monitor him and to ensure he acts within the law,' the source added. Under the legislation, Walsh is obliged to notify gardaí of his name, date of birth and home address within three days of his jail release. Part of his release conditions means he's on the Sex Offenders Register for life. Walsh was jailed for 10 years in February 2010 for raping Ruth Dunne when she was nine. He received another identical sentence the following year for sexually assaulting another child. Ms Dunne bravely waived her right to anonymity to expose his horrific crimes. Walsh cynically exploited his friendship with her family to gain access to her by pretending to take her to play with one of his daughters. He targeted Ms Dunne on Dublin's Sandymount Beach and made the youngster play a depraved game called "guess the fruit and veg". Following his trial, Mr Justice Paul Carney said the case was one of the "most repulsive" he had ever encountered. The judge told the court: "I find it revolting that Walsh planned the sex game by purchasing fruit and vegetables. "I would also like to note the inherent gravity of the attacks." The other victim was aged only 14 when she was targeted by the notorious paedophile. During the trial the victim said she was first introduced to Walsh, a friend of her father's, when she was in sixth class. He became a regular visitor to her home and in July 2008, when she was 14, he moved in permanently. Within a month he tried to rape her, and just weeks later he succeeded in doing so. During the sentencing, the then 18-year-old victim broke down as she described the appalling nature of the crimes committed against her when she was aged 14 and 15. Walsh has a string of previous convictions including a lengthy prison sentence in relation to an arson case. He was convicted twice for armed robbery in the 1970s, and was convicted of larceny and assault. He also ran protection rackets in the 1980s. In September 1992 he was almost killed when an arson attempt on a pub in Ballybough, Dublin, went wrong and the building exploded while he was inside. He claimed he could not recall what happened. He said he could have been kidnapped and beaten and then put on the premises as part of a set-up . Walsh, a married father of three, was sentenced to 15 years for the arson attack. In February 1993 a judge claimed he was running a dial-a-witness scheme. Walsh was advising people how to set up false personal injuries claims and putting them in touch with people who would act as witness. He was around the courts in Dublin, advising fellow criminals on their cases and people involved in personal injury cases. While in jail he also provided 'legal advice' to fellow inmates. Two months ago it emerged that Walsh sent a letter to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris demanding officers be sent into the Midlands Prison to probe what he has described as his 'unlawful' detention there. Walsh said he had to post a letter to 'file a criminal complaint by writing to the office of the Garda Commissioner for assistance in gaining access to a garda member or members by way of a professional visit at the Midlands Prison so that I can file a criminal complaint.' He also took a habeas corpus' proceedings in the High Court aimed at having his renewed period of detention declared illegal amid claims that he is a 'financially unsound' person. According to court records, his application to have his incarceration declared unlawful by the High Court was refused on April 11.
Irish Daily Mirror
05-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Double rapist Simon McGinley back on the streets just days after prison release
This is notorious double rapist Simon McGinley out and about in a Co Louth town just days after he was released from prison. Evil McGinley, 52, walked free from the Midlands Prison on Wednesday after completing a sentence he received last year for breaching the conditions of the Sex Offenders Act. Our exclusive photos show the cowardly double rapist, dressed in a striped t-shirt, a grey zip-up jumper and black trousers and carrying a mobile phone and blue disposable vape, as The Irish Mirror tracked him down in Dundalk. The sicko sex fiend, who is now subject to Garda monitoring as he has been described as a dangerous individual, was in prison since August 2023 after he was sentenced at Dundalk Circuit Court for the breaches. As part of his release conditions, he is also under the supervision of the Probation Service for the next 12 years. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life. In October 2022, the sex beast was released from Arbour Hill Prison, having served 13 years behind bars of an overall 21-year sentence for the brutal and shocking rape of an 85-year-old woman in her Co Monaghan home in 2008. A drunken McGinley had broken into her home and raped her repeatedly during the night and put his hand over her mouth. The elderly woman had been unfit to give evidence during the trial due to worsening dementia. But, a statement she had given at a previous district court hearing was read to the jury. The evil rapist was previously sentenced to 12 years in 1998 after pleading guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl in August 1997 — in a controversy known as the 'C Case'. The young girl at the centre of the infamous 'C Case' against him was involved in a legal battle over whether she was allowed to travel to the UK to have an abortion. Speaking out in 2009, the victim told RTÉ Radio how the brutal attack left her pregnant and forced her into a succession of care homes and how she was caught at the centre of an infamous legal battle over her right to have an abortion. 'He ruined my life and I am still coming to terms with that. My life is destroyed,' said the woman. 'I never got schooling or anything like that. I don't know how many times I tried to kill myself but I have a little five-year-old son now so he keeps me going.' Dangerous rapist McGinley has also previously been compared to infamous beast Larry Murphy and is considered a highly volatile sexual predator. And he was once deemed a person of interest in the case of missing JoJo Dullard. During his trial in 2009 for the rape of the elderly woman, Mr Justice Birmingham said he could find no mitigating circumstance. 'Rape is always a serious offence but within the spectrum of rapes this, in my view, is at the top of the upper end. This case is just about as bad as it gets,' he said. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Sunday World
02-07-2025
- Sunday World
Double rapist Simon McGinley released from prison today, will be monitored by gardaí
A garda alert is in place for McGinley (51), who is expected to live at an address in Dundalk, Co Louth Rapist Simon McGinley walked out of the Midlands Prison a free man today after serving 23 months for breaching the conditions of the Sex Offenders Act. A garda alert is in place for McGinley (51), who is expected to live at an address in Dundalk, Co Louth. Sources say McGinley was signed out of the prison at approximately 10.15am on Wednesday morning. A man, understood to be McGinley, walked from the prison a couple of minutes afterwards, wearing a shirt, a dark-coloured tracksuit bottoms, a wide-brimmed hat and a facemask. He was carrying a single bag. The man took a left turn and walked towards Portlaoise town. Sources said McGinley served every day of the two-and-a-half-year sentence imposed on him for breaching the act, minus remission. The term also involved the reactivation of a suspended portion of a sentence he received for a previous rape. 'Like all prisoners, he is entitled to standard remission of one-quarter of his sentence, and that is what happened here,' a source said. 'He caused very little problems in terms of disciplinary issues while being housed on the C Wing of the Midlands Prison, which is reserved for sex offenders.' McGinley, who has strong links to north Co Dublin, has been in the prison since August 2023 after the sentences were imposed on him by Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court. He will be subject to monitoring by gardaí, who classify him as 'a very dangerous individual'. McGinley was originally released from prison in September, 2022, after serving a lengthy sentence for the rape of a pensioner. The woman had been unfit to give evidence during the trial due to her worsening dementia, but a statement she gave at a previous district court hearing in October 2008 was read to the jury. A drunken McGinley raped the woman repeatedly during the night and put his hand over her mouth at one point when she cried out. His previous rape, of a 13-year-old girl, sparked the 'C Case' legal battle over whether she was allowed to travel to the UK for an abortion. McGinley was freed from Arbour Hill Prison in September 2022, after finishing a 21-year sentence imposed in 2009 for the sexual attack on the 85-year-old woman in Co Monaghan. At that time, a nationwide alert was issued to gardaí across the country informing them of his release. McGinley was told at his last trial that he would be under post-release supervision for 12 years but he breached these conditions after less than a year as a free man. Simon McGinley When passing sentence in 2009, Justice George Birmingham said the case was one of the worst he had heard, considering the age and frailty of the victim. Then aged 35, McGinley, who had denied the charges, was found guilty of raping the elderly woman on June 16, 2008, after forcing his way into her home. The woman known as 'Miss C' was also in court for McGinley's 2009 sentence hearing, at which the daughter of the elderly woman outlined the devastating impact the sex attack had on her mother. In 2009 'Miss C' spoke to RTÉ radio about the attack by McGinley that left her pregnant. She was raped as a 13-year-old in 1997 when she babysat for McGinley's children and he insisted on dropping her home afterwards. Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 2nd In January last year, a separate charge against McGinley of breaching the conditions of the Sex Offenders Act was struck out after it was disclosed that the alleged injured party – an elderly woman – in the case did not want to attend court. McGinley was once a person of interest in the case of JoJo Dullard, who went missing in November 1995, but has since been ruled out of the murder probe. Meanwhile, gardaí in Co Louth have also been alerted about another sex offender who is understood to have travelled home to Drogheda after serving a sentence for serious sexual offences in the UK. The 23-year-old is currently homeless and was not given permission by UK authorities to return to Ireland as he was meant to be under the supervision of probation officers there until next year. Gardaí have been warned that this sex offender 'expresses racist' views, has a huge dislike of authority and can behave in an extremely aggressive manner.
Sunday World
02-07-2025
- Sunday World
Garda alert as double rapist Simon McGinley to be released from prison this morning
He will be subject to monitoring by gardaí, who classify him as 'a very dangerous individual' Rapist Simon McGinley is due to walk out of the Midlands Prison a free man today after serving 23 months for breaching the conditions of the Sex Offenders Act. A garda alert is in place for McGinley (51), who is expected to live at an address in Dundalk, Co Louth. Sources said he served every day of the two-and-a-half-year sentence imposed on him for breaching the act, minus remission. The term also involved the reactivation of a suspended portion of a sentence he received for a previous rape. 'Like all prisoners, he is entitled to standard remission of one-quarter of his sentence, and that is what happened here,' a source said. 'He caused very little problems in terms of disciplinary issues while being housed on the C Wing of the Midlands Prison, which is reserved for sex offenders.' McGinley, who has strong links to north Co Dublin, has been in the prison since August 2023 after the sentences were imposed on him by Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court. Gardaí classify him as 'a very dangerous individual' He will be subject to monitoring by gardaí, who classify him as 'a very dangerous individual'. McGinley was originally released from prison in September, 2022, after serving a lengthy sentence for the rape of a pensioner. The woman had been unfit to give evidence during the trial due to her worsening dementia, but a statement she gave at a previous district court hearing in October 2008 was read to the jury. A drunken McGinley raped the woman repeatedly during the night and put his hand over her mouth at one point when she cried out. His previous rape, of a 13-year-old girl, sparked the 'C Case' legal battle over whether she was allowed to travel to the UK for an abortion. McGinley was freed from Arbour Hill Prison in September 2022, after finishing a 21-year sentence imposed in 2009 for the sexual attack on the 85-year-old woman in Co Monaghan. At that time, a nationwide alert was issued to gardaí across the country informing them of his release. McGinley was told at his last trial that he would be under post-release supervision for 12 years but he breached these conditions after less than a year as a free man. Simon McGinley When passing sentence in 2009, Justice George Birmingham said the case was one of the worst he had heard, considering the age and frailty of the victim. Then aged 35, McGinley, who had denied the charges, was found guilty of raping the elderly woman on June 16, 2008, after forcing his way into her home. The woman known as 'Miss C' was also in court for McGinley's 2009 sentence hearing, at which the daughter of the elderly woman outlined the devastating impact the sex attack had on her mother. In 2009 'Miss C' spoke to RTÉ radio about the attack by McGinley that left her pregnant. She was raped as a 13-year-old in 1997 when she babysat for McGinley's children and he insisted on dropping her home afterwards. McGinley was once a person of interest in the case of JoJo Dullard In January last year, a separate charge against McGinley of breaching the conditions of the Sex Offenders Act was struck out after it was disclosed that the alleged injured party – an elderly woman – in the case did not want to attend court. McGinley was once a person of interest in the case of JoJo Dullard, who went missing in November 1995, but has since been ruled out of the murder probe. Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 2nd Meanwhile, gardaí in Co Louth have also been alerted about another sex offender who is understood to have travelled home to Drogheda after serving a sentence for serious sexual offences in the UK. The 23-year-old is currently homeless and was not given permission by UK authorities to return to Ireland as he was meant to be under the supervision of probation officers there until next year. Gardaí have been warned that this sex offender 'expresses racist' views, has a huge dislike of authority and can behave in an extremely aggressive manner.
