NOEL LONG, KNOWN IRISH OFFENDER, LINKED TO COLD-CASE SEX CRIME IN IRELAND

Convicted serial sex offender Noel Long is now considered the primary suspect in one of Ireland's most shocking cold-case sex crimes. Three decades ago, this rugged biker was charged in connection with the death of Nora Sheehan, a mother of three. In 1981, the vulnerable woman was raped and strangled with her own summer dress before her body was discarded in a forest. Although Long was linked to the case, he avoided a murder trial because a critical member of the forensic team involved in the investigation passed away.

Long, a former army cadet known for his leather attire, was only 20 years old at the time of his first violent sexual assault. He was convicted of indecent assault and received a six-month sentence suspended in relation to an incident where he dragged a 23-year-old woman with special needs into an abandoned house in Crosshaven, Cork, where he raped and assaulted her.

Four years later, he targeted a 16-year-old girl walking her dog; he pulled her into a car, assaulted her, and attempted to rape her. The assault was interrupted by a vigilant passerby who rescued the girl. For this attack, Long was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Additionally, just a year before Nora Sheehan's murder, Long was the chief suspect in a brutal rape and assault involving a 25-year-old woman in Cork.

He currently resides in Maulbaun, Passage West.