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'A very dangerous man': convicted murderer Rea sentenced for raping cousin

2026-03-18 · Longford, Longford · Central Criminal Court

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Patrick Rea, a 55-year-old currently serving a life sentence for murder, has been convicted and sentenced at the Central Criminal Court for the rape and indecent assault of his cousin in Longford between 1986 and 1989. The offences occurred when the victim was between five and seven years old and Rea was aged 16 to 19. Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed a concurrent sentence of 12 years, backdated to January, finding Rea a "very dangerous man" requiring close monitoring. The judge noted Rea's youth at the time but rejected it as significant mitigation given his subsequent serious criminal history, which includes a 1997 rape conviction and 23 other convictions. The victim, who waived anonymity, delivered a powerful impact statement describing lifelong trauma. Rea, held at Midlands Prison, was ordered to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with children, with lifetime post-release supervision directed.

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