'Convicted rapist and murderer who sexually abused cousin in Longford is a very dangerous man'

A judge has said a convicted rapist and murderer who sexually abused his cousin almost 40 years ago is a “very dangerous man” and will require close monitoring if he is ever released from custody.

Patrick Rea (55) is currently serving a life sentence for murder, following a conviction in the Edinburgh High Court in 2011. He was repatriated to serve this sentence here in June 2014.

The Central Criminal Court heard his 23 other convictions include one for rape, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison in 1997. His convictions also include one from 2015 for failure to notify under the Sex Offenders Act for an offence date in 2008, theft and road traffic offences.

Dean Kelly SC, prosecuting, told the court at an earlier sentence hearing that the victim, Donna Fahy, wished to waive her right to anonymity so that Rea could be identified in reporting of the case.

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Rea, who is currently in custody in the Midlands Prison, was convicted of one count of rape and two of indecently assaulting Ms Fahy following a trial in January.

All of this offending took place on dates between October 1986 and December 1989 at an address in Longford Town, when Ms Fahy was aged between five and seven. Rea was then aged between 16 and 19. 

Imposing sentence on Wednesday, March 18, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said these offences took place against a “very young child” who suffered a “traumatising and terrifying experience at the time, which have had a long-lasting effect on her life.”

He said Rea “betrayed any conceivable notion of trust” or care that exists between family members, that he took advantage of the injured party’s vulnerable situation, and that the evidence suggested he knew what he was doing was wrong.

Mr Justice McDermott said the court had to take into account that Rea was under 18 and legally a child for some of the period when this offending occurred.

He also noted reports state that Rea had mental health issues at the time, adding that these documents do not suggest that Rea had a mental disorder and did not know what he was doing was wrong.

The judge said he would set a headline sentence of 14 years for an adult, which he reduced to 12 years to take account of Rea’s age at the time.

Mr Justice McDermott said there was little mitigation, noting that Rea went on to carry out other serious offences. 

He imposed a concurrent sentence of 12 years backdated to January 23 last, noting that the court may not impose a consecutive sentence to life imprisonment.

The judge said that Rea has “proven himself to be a very dangerous man, capable of the most serious offending”.

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Mr Justice McDermott said the court could have viewed this case as exceptional and imposed another life sentence due to Rea’s history of offending. He said the court had decided not to do this, noting Rea’s youth at the time and the guidance of higher courts in relation to young offenders.

The judge said Rea is a “dangerous offender who will need close monitoring in future” and directed post-release supervision for life.

He imposed several conditions including that Rea has no contact with the injured party and no contact with a child unless in the presence of another adult.

Reading her victim impact statement during an earlier hearing, Ms Fahy said she is now married with children and grandchildren.

She said she “never chose to become a victim, it was forced into my life, my family’s life, my marriage and children’s life”.

She said she was “given a life sentence of nightmares” at the “tender age of five” that she will have to endure for the rest of her life.

She said that “survival doesn't mean I walked away untouched”, adding that she did not go back to who she was before, but has had to learn to live as someone else.

“Survival is choosing to keep going”, she said, later adding “I didn’t get a soft life. I got chaos and betrayal. I learnt to be a person I didn’t choose to be”.

“I’m not strong, I’m just good at being hyper-vigilant”.

Addressing Rea, she said: “you have no remorse, guilt or shame for what you did to me”.

“You are a foul, disgusting human being”, she said, adding that he was a “coward, a monster” who “thrives on disempowering women and children.”

She said she has survived, is taking her power back and refuses to live the rest of her life in fear or silence.

Victim Impact Statement 

In her victim impact statement, Ms Fahy said her body and mind were innocent and Rea “felt comfortable raping and violating my body without regard for the damage he caused”.

She said not only did he rape and abuse her, but he also stole her sense of security, childhood and ability to trust people and to feel safe in the world.   

She said the damage from the abuse affected every part of her life.

Detective Garda John Gormley previously gave evidence that the victim's family were living in the same house as Rea's when his offending took place.

The injured party outlined that there were several incidents of kissing, including one where he kissed her goodnight with his lips on her face.

In another incident, he picked her up in the hallway while she was singing and carried her down a corridor, then kissed her on the lips. Rea then returned her to the hallway.  This happened a number of times, the court was told.

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The court was told the first incident of indecent assault occurred in her aunt's room. Rea got into the bed beside the injured party and started rubbing his body against her backside. She could feel something hard.

This incident ended when his father came home and Rea left the room via a window. 

Rea also indecently assaulted the injured party in the bathroom. He put her hand on his penis, touched her inappropriately and digitally penetrated her vagina.

In a separate incident, Rea raped the injured party in the bathroom. She recalled feeling pain and discomfort and trying to focus on items in the bathroom like shampoo bottles while this was taking place.

Afterwards, Rea told her not to tell anyone as it was their game. He gave her a similar warning after he indecently assaulted her in the bathroom for the first time, the court heard.

The court heard that Ms Fahy's family later moved out of her aunt's house. Evidence was heard that the injured party did not always receive appropriate care and occasionally returned to her aunt's house. She recalled being sent there on an errand by her mother and she was afraid of seeing Rea. She did not go, making an excuse when she returned home.

The injured party's mother brought her to a doctor in 1990 due to concerns about vaginal bleeding. She was referred to Crumlin Hospital and an examination determined that her vaginal opening was defective, consistent with a diagnosis of penetrative sexual abuse.

The doctor highlighted his concerns to the authorities, and the injured party was taken into care.

Her foster mother gave evidence during the trial, describing the injured party as being distressed at night, waking up with nightmares and screaming.

She said that the injured party did not speak about what happened and described how the girl made up her own songs. She remembered one of these songs was about someone called 'Paddy Rea' and how much she hated him.

Around 2007, the wider family organised a meeting at a local hotel, which Ms Fahy attended with her husband.

Rea was confronted about what he did, replying “yea, I did but it's your fault”. The court was told that Rea was saying it was the injured party's fault he spent time in a psychiatric hospital.

She made a complaint to gardai in 2022 and an investigation began. Rea was interviewed once in 2024, during which he denied the allegations in full.  He also denied making any admission at the hotel.

Det Gda Gormley told John Short SC, defending, that he is unaware if Rea pleaded guilty to the rape charge in 1997. 

It was accepted that Rea was interviewed about these offences while he was in custody.

Mr Short asked the court to consider his client's youth at the time and the contents of several psychological assessments provided to court.

He noted his client is serving a life sentence and submitted the court should not impose a consecutive sentence on top of an indeterminate sentence. 

A medical record provided to the court stated that Rea, who has a previous address in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, spent time in a psychiatric hospital when he was 17.