portadown Rapist

June 2006 Pervert pensioner convicted of further rape A PENSIONER jailed for seven years for raping one sister and sexually abusing two others is back behind bars for raping another girl.

The 66-year-old, who cannot be named to protect his victims, was jailed for two years yesterday after admitting the rape and sex abuse of a ten- year-old over 30 years ago.

Antrim Crown Court heard that when the Portadown man, already on the sex offenders’ register for life, was originally jailed in September 2000, his fourth victim, a sister of the other three girls, could not bring herself to come forward with her claims of sex abuse.

Judge David Smyth, ordering the man to serve a further year on probation on his release, said his guilty pleas were “of considerable value’ to his victim, and a “matter of great relief to her’.

However, he added that while his victim was “neutral’ as to whether he was jailed again, he had to go to prison even though his “return will bring more hardship on you given your health and age’.

Prosecuting lawyer Neil Connor said the offences of rape, gross indecency and indecent assault first occurred in the summer of 1975 when the 44-year-old woman was aged ten.

Mr Connor said the man took her into a forest park where he raped her, telling the child, too young to realise what was happening: “Don’t worry you will like it’.

Defence lawyer Richard Green said the matter for the court was the question of what sentence he would have received had everything been dealt with at the original trial.

He added that the Co Armagh man was in poor health, with heart problems, but realised he would have to “return into custody’, and by his guilty pleas had saved his victim the trauma of giving evidence.