Vigil cancelled over reports of homeless man’s sex abuse conviction

A vigil for homeless people has been cancelled amid reports rough sleeper Shane Jack Watson who was found dead on a Dublin street last week was a sex offender.

Mr Watson, a former chef in his 50s who returned from Australia a number of years ago, was found unconscious outside the Superdry shop on Suffolk Street at 4am last Thursday.

He was treated at the scene and taken by ambulance to St James’ Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The Irish Sun reported that Mr Watson – who had a number of aliases – was deported from Australia in October 2015, after amassing 40 convictions over 19 years. It reported that he was jailed for 18 months in April 2008 after he was convicted in Bendigo County Court in the state of Victoria of indecently assaulting two girls under the age of 16.

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‘Out of respect’

Home Sweet Home, which had organised the vigil outside Apollo House on Tara Street, said it was “shocked at reports Mr Watson was deported from Australia for very serious crimes”.

The planned vigil on Thursday evening in Dublin has been cancelled “out of respect for the victim of these crimes,” a statement read.

“This does not change the fact that many people have died as a result of our housing emergency. This is totally unacceptable and urgently needs to be addressed,” the statement added.

Mr Watson was known to a number of agencies and had stayed in Apollo House over Christmas.

The vacant Apollo House office block in Dublin city centre was occupied by housing activists and homeless people in December, for accommodation and to highlight the number of unoccupied buildings in the city in the midst of a housing crisis.