Gardaí believe man who raped special needs woman had attacked before

Gardaí searching for a man who raped a woman with special needs are focusing their efforts on the residential area in Dublin where she is believed to have been taken from the street into a property.

Officers investigating the case, described as “horrific” by one source, are studying the sex offenders’ register to establish what offenders live in the area.

They believe the crime was most likely committed by somebody who has sexually attacked in the past and are hopeful that if he was caught, his period on the register will not have expired.

The victim, who is in her 20s and has Down syndrome, was out walking and jogging with her mother in the South Circular Road area of south Dublin when they were separated on Wednesday.

Distressed
The woman's mother reached the family home first. The victim returned home about an hour later than expected in a very distressed state.

Gardaí were contacted and after speaking to the victim they became concerned she had been subjected to a sexual assault. She was taken for examination to the sexual assault unit at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin's north inner city.

Gardaí believe she was preyed on by a man who led her from the street to a nearby property and raped her.

An intensive round of house-to-house inquiries is under way and closed-circuit television is being studied.