A total of 43 convicted sex offenders living in communities across Ireland pose a “high” or “very high” risk of re-offending.
Officials said 146 freed perverts are being monitored under the Sex Offender Risk Assessment and Management scheme at the beginning of this year.
Aged between 20 to 81, their offences include rape, defilement of a child as well as possession, production or distribution of child abuse imagery.
Data relating to the administration of the programme is contained in last year’s SORAM’s report, which was released following a freedom of information request. It reveals 25% of sex offenders under the programme live in the South Eastern Garda Region following a 10% increase in 2018.
The 36 offenders in the South Eastern Region is the highest of anywhere outside of the Dublin Metropolitan Region where 41 sex criminals are based.
A total of 23 were registered in the South Garda Region while SORAM was monitoring 11 sex offenders in the North area.
Some 41 of the sex offenders monitored under the programme were described as posing a “high” risk of reoffending, while two were identified as posing a “very high” risk.
A further 63 were considered “medium” risk on a risk-management scale that seeks to predict the
likelihood of reoffending.
And 37% of offenders had been convicted of sexual or indecent assault, while 14% had been convicted of offences related to child abuse imagery. More than 10% were convicted or rape or attempted rape.
Almost 4% were found guilty of defilement of a child, 1.9% were convicted of sexual exploitation, while 28% of the offenders had been convicted of more than one type of offence.
Almost half of the victims were children – 37% were girls and 10.9% boys.
Adult females were victims in 26.7% of cases, while adult males were targeted in 1.4% of cases.
SORAM comprises representatives from An Garda Siochana, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, Tusla and local authority housing bodies.
