Locations
Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Description
Dangerous rapist Rory O'Connor appeared at Fermanagh Court on Monday when the PSNI applied for a SOPO (Sexual Offences Prevention Order) to "protect the public from serious harm" from him.
The violent 45-year-old criminal had been living secretly at an address in Enniskillen.
The police application stated that since his conviction for rape on October 11, 2002, O'Connor has acted in such a way as to give reasonable cause to believe a SOPO is necessary to "protect the public from serious harm" from him.
A defence barrister said O'Connor was consenting to a Notification Order under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, requiring him to sign the Sex Offenders' Register.
The barrister handed District Judge Liam McNally a letter and applied for an order banning the press from reporting the court case, thereby preventing the public from knowing about the legal proceedings. He submitted that the third paragraph contained the reason for such a ban.
However, after reading the letter the District Judge said he could see no reason for imposing a reporting restriction.
He made the Notification Order for an indefinite period from O'Connor's conviction on October 11, 2002.
The various measures in Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are designed to enable the police to monitor and manage sex offenders living in the local area.
Certain sex offenders are required to notify the police of personal information such as their name, address and, as of August 13, 2012, bank and credit card details, and to update the police whenever this information changes.
The police record of this information is commonly referred to as the Sex Offenders' Register.
The notification requirements are imposed automatically on offenders convicted of certain offences in the United Kingdom, but can also be imposed by way of court order on offenders convicted in other countries. The notification requirements are imposed for a fixed or indefinite period, depending on the sentence received.
Those offenders subject to an indefinite notification period can apply to the police for a determination that they no longer pose a risk and should no longer be on the register. The earliest point at which such an application can be made is 15 years after the date of the offender's first notification.