A 18-year-old convicted rapist has been publicly vilified in a midlands town by local residents.
The young man, who was 16 at the time of the offence, raped a 13-year-old boy and sexually assaulted another.
During his trial the boy said the incidents which occurred in a midlands town were consensual and described them as “an experiment gone wrong”.
The Central Criminal Court heard one of the main problems for the accused was that he was about to turn 18 and would no longer have access to treatment and support form Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.
It is not clear what, if any disability and support services he will have access to as an adult. He was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, defence counsel Conor Devally SC told the court, adding doctors later said he was also on the autism spectrum.
This week Mr Justice Paul Coffey imposed a three year sentence on the boy. However he deferred imposition of the sentence until January 2018 when he hopes “a meaningful multi-agency care plan will be in place.”
The judge noted a report stated the boy is at a moderate risk of re-offending if support services do not urgently intervene.
The boy will remain under supervision by the Probation Services in the meantime.
Locals chanted "rapist out - keep our children safe" outside the young man's home today and his identity was revealed on social media.
Local resident and campaign organiser, Caithlian Ni Ghiolla Rua, spoke on the Niall Boylan Show at Classic Hits 4FM after more than 50 residents had gathered outside the family home of the young man.
"We know this boy, we know what he's capable of," she said. "He's a predator, he's prowling around."
Another resident using the name Mary, said she feared for the safety of the convicted rapist and accused the residents of putting the man’s life in danger.
Mary described as "outrageous" comments on social media which suggested “killing” the 18-year-old convicted rapist and felt the “concerned residents” were guilty of putting his life in danger. She went on to say that the boy had learning difficulties and did not realise that what he was doing was wrong when he sexually assaulted and raped the children.
The protesting residents claim Tusla and the state have failed the parents and the children by allowing the convicted rapist serve no time in jail as they had not set up a multi-agency plan to support and rehabilitate him. Residents said they felt they had no choice but to protest, as concerned parents.