This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-northern-ireland-16261680
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Charity in call after Barry Johnston Ballymena rape case | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| An organisation which works with rape victims has called for more robust monitoring of sex offenders after a serious attack on a 74-year-old woman. | |
| Barry Johnston, 26, raped the pensioner in Ballymena in August last year. | |
| The attack took place two days after he was released for breaching a sex offences order in relation to a previous rape conviction. | |
| Johnston will be sentenced for the rape of the pensioner on 6 January. He also admitted possessing drugs. | |
| Helen Bracken of the Nexus Institute called into question the current system. | |
| "Questions need to be asked about risk assessment and the management of sex offenders," she said. | |
| "There should have been more robust protocols in place because, at the end of the day, somebody has been very grievously damaged as a result of this." | |
| The PSNI said the rape was horrendous and diabolical. | |
| It said there had been a plan in place to deal with Johnston and what took place happened despite those best efforts. | |
| Ballymena Crown Court heard that Johnston's elderly victim had pleaded with him after he entered her house, saying "have mercy on me, I'm an old woman". | Ballymena Crown Court heard that Johnston's elderly victim had pleaded with him after he entered her house, saying "have mercy on me, I'm an old woman". |
| Johnston told her not to report the attack, but after she confided in a neighbour the police were alerted and he was arrested on the basis of DNA evidence. | Johnston told her not to report the attack, but after she confided in a neighbour the police were alerted and he was arrested on the basis of DNA evidence. |
| The court was told his victim was "at risk of suffering from clinical depression" and was "unlikely to get back to the person she was". | The court was told his victim was "at risk of suffering from clinical depression" and was "unlikely to get back to the person she was". |