The hearing of an application by Galway double-rapist Paul Cullinane for release from his 12-year sentence has been adjourned to October 10th by Mr Justice Ó Caoimh at the Central Criminal Court.
Mr Justice Ó Caoimh had refused to release him on his last appearance on December 4th, 2001, and adjourned further review of the sentence for two years so that Cullinane could be provided with the psychological treatment believed necessary by experts before he was released back into the community.
Cullinane (35), Barry Avenue, Galway, was jailed on April 14th, 1997, by now retired Mr Justice Flood for the vicious rape of a teenage schoolgirl on August 24th, 1993. Cullinane had lured the teenager off a bus and tricked her into believing a friend had sent him to meet her. He then took her to his home and raped her.
He was also jailed for six years in 1982 for raping another woman.
Mr Justice Flood agreed to backdate the 1997 sentence to the date of Cullinane's arrest and originally set June 23rd, 2000, for review of the sentence, with an indication he might release him on very strict conditions on July 3rd, 2000, his final day sitting as a High Court judge.
However, after reading reports furnished, he refused to release Cullinane at that hearing and told him he could apply again in January 2001. Mr Justice Ó Caoimh then took over the case and has adjourned the review hearings several times since.
Mr Justice Ó Caoimh had said his rejection of Cullinane's last application, in 2001, was based on reports indicating it was too early to release him. The reports indicated he had made only limited progress. He noted it had been indicated that some of the treatment required by Cullinane was not available in Wheatfield Prison where he was held, and that the authorities should move him to a prison where he could undergo the relevant courses.
"It would be unrealistic for him to expect to be released at this stage. A window of opportunity was granted to him by Mr Justice Flood and he must address the issues involved," he said then.
Mr Justice Ó Caoimh agreed that a transcript of the hearing could be provided for the defence who, he said, were entitled to canvass these matters with the Minister for Justice and Law Reform and the prison authorities.
He said a relevant factor was when it would be appropriate for Cullinane to undergo some of the treatment proposed before his release.