RICHARD FLANAGAN, YOUNG SEX OFFENDER FROM SCOTLAND, DETAINED FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS

A 20-year-old sex offender named Richard Flanagan has been held in detention for almost two years after multiple violent incidents involving women, which occurred while he was under the influence of cocaine. The court detailed that Flanagan first attacked a woman on February 15, 2019, after previously socializing with her at a gathering. During this assault, he retrieved a kitchen knife after taking cocaine, displaying it to the woman and her boyfriend and saying, “If I hated you, I could stab you.” He also pressed the knife against the woman's neck and the neck and arm of her boyfriend. The woman was distressed and managed to wrest the knife from him briefly, after which Flanagan apologized. Later that evening, he returned to attack the same couple. Prosecutors revealed that Flanagan, who was in remand at Polmont Young Offenders' Institute, received a sentence of 20 months in detention. Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for the next ten years, with sheriff Gregor Murray also ordaining a ten-month supervision period following his release.

In a separate incident on June 7, 2020, Flanagan attended a party at a woman's house and later returned uninvited, during which he sexually assaulted one of the women after previously arguing with her boyfriend. Flanagan claimed to be “possessed by demons” and indicated that he had previously targeted another woman with threatening behavior involving a knife. He admitted to both sexual assault charges and threats. The court acknowledged the trauma inflicted on the victims, with Sheriff Murray commenting on Flanagan's troubled background and youth, and noting the ongoing suffering of those affected. It was also noted that Flanagan has mental health issues, claiming to hear voices in his head and exhibiting violent tendencies during the incidents.