Notorious Double Rapist Missing After Prison Release, Sparks Fears for Public Safety

 Convicted double rapist Simon McGinley, 52, has gone missing after his release from prison, failing to report to gardaí in recent weeks as required under the Sex Offenders Act, raising serious concerns for the safety of women.

McGinley walked free from Midlands Prison at the end of June, having served a sentence imposed last year for breaching conditions of the Act. Described by authorities as a dangerous individual, he had been in custody since August 2023 after being sentenced at Dundalk Circuit Court for those breaches.

Under his release conditions, McGinley remains under the supervision of the Probation Service for the next 12 years and is on the Sex Offenders Register for life. However, sources told [Publication] that he has dropped off the radar in recent weeks, prompting gardaí to obtain a summons to bring him back to court.

“He hasn’t been seen by gardaí or the Probation Service in weeks, which is deeply worrying. He is required to check in regularly, but right now, no one knows his whereabouts,” a source said.

In early July, Irish Mirror photographers captured McGinley in Dundalk, Co Louth, marking the first public sighting since his release. He was dressed in a striped T-shirt, grey zip-up jumper, and black trousers, carrying a mobile phone and disposable vape.

A History of Heinous Crimes
In October 2022, McGinley was released from Arbour Hill Prison after serving 13 years of a 21-year sentence for the 2008 rape of an 85-year-old woman in her Co Monaghan home. Intoxicated, he broke into her home, repeatedly assaulted her, and covered her mouth during the attack. The victim, suffering from dementia, could not testify at trial; her earlier court statement was read to the jury.

McGinley’s first conviction came in 1998 when he was sentenced to 12 years for raping a 13-year-old girl in the notorious “C Case”. The crime sparked a high-profile legal battle over the victim’s right to travel to the UK for an abortion. Years later, the victim spoke publicly of the lasting trauma, saying:

“He ruined my life. I never got schooling or anything like that. I don’t know how many times I tried to kill myself… I am still coming to terms with it.”

Authorities have previously compared McGinley to infamous predator Larry Murphy and have deemed him a highly volatile sexual offender. He was once considered a person of interest in the disappearance of JoJo Dullard.

During his 2009 trial for the rape of the elderly woman, Mr Justice Birmingham remarked:

“Rape is always a serious offence, but within the spectrum of rapes this is at the very top. This case is just about as bad as it gets.”

With McGinley now unaccounted for, law enforcement agencies are intensifying efforts to locate him, as public safety concerns mount.