Courts / Wicklow / Report

Child rapist can be named after stay on lifting of gagging order expires

Date
2020-12-22

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Ashford

County
Wicklow

Summary

A case currently in appeal involves Paul Gregory (56) of Lucky Brook House, Cronroe, Ashford, Co Wicklow, who admitted to 205 counts of rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons at his Co Wicklow home. The abuse, which began in 1993 when the victims were under ten years old and continued for a decade, was admitted by Gregory during a guilty plea in 2015. The victims, now adults, had previously waived their statutory anonymity, but a stay on the lifting of the gagging order was imposed to avoid prejudicing other trials. Those trials have since concluded, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) applied to lift the stay. Gregory has expressed concerns about his safety if his identity is published, and his legal team has raised questions regarding the interpretation of Section 252 of the Children Act. The matter was adjourned pending an application to the Court of Appeal by Gregory, but no such appeal has been made, and the deadline has passed. The court has now lifted the reporting restrictions, allowing Gregory to be named publicly. The case remains in the appeal stage, with no finalised sentence or disposal at this time.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Child rapist can be named after stay on lifting of gagging order expires. Charges or matters: 205 counts of rape and sexual assault of his wife's two sons at his Co Wicklow home. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

March 2016 Incident
2020-12-22 Publication

Why: However, Mr Justice Hunt placed a stay on the waiving of the anonymity in order to avoid publication of anything that might prejudice trials that were due to take place at Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court. CNI source report