Public meeting called as rapist due for release

A PUBLIC meeting is to be held in west Wicklow tomorrow to coincide with the release of a notorious rapist from the area.

Larry Murphy is due for release after serving 10-and-a-half years of a 15-year sentence imposed for the rape and attempted murder of a woman in 2000.

The imminent release of the 45-year-old rapist from Baltinglass has caused great concern and 13,800 people so far have signed up to a Facebook campaign to keep him in prison.

Wicklow’s Fine Gael TD Billy Timmins wants the law changed to allow for prison remission to be revoked where a rapist does not take part in a rehabilitation programme while in prison.

He wanted remissions to be earned as opposed to being an “automatic right”.

Sinn Féin have organised a meeting in Grangecon on Thursday evening to discuss the concerns of residents.

Gerry O’Neill said there are a lot of frightened people out there. The Justice Minister “must be the only one who feels that it’s safe to let Larry Murphy out at this time, while at the same time saying that he’ll require 24-hour surveillance,” he said.

The organisers are hoping that what will emerge will be a network of people in all the villages who will look out for people and, through a coordinator, will liaise with the gardaí.