Reported sightings of a dangerous sex offender in Carlow have been refuted by gardaí and the Irish prison service.
Calls from members of the public to Carlow First last week expressed concern that Laurence Murphy, who is serving the last two years of a 15 year sentence in the Midlands Prison, was actually out of jail and living in Carlow town.
Carlow First can confirm that Mr Murphy is still in prison.
“Mr Murphy is still in custody,” said a spokesperson within the prison service. “While not in Midlands Prison now, Mr Murphy is in a prison within the Irish Prison Service. If he had been released he would have had to give his name and address to the gardaí wherever he resides, and he would have to remain on the Irish Sex Offenders Register for life. Mr Murphy is in fact not due for release until 2010.”
Baltinglass native Mr Murphy (43 ) is serving his sentence for the abduction, rape and attempted murder of a Carlow woman in February 2001.
The carpenter, who was questioned as part of Operation Trace in connection with the disappearance of several other young women in Ireland, is supposed to register with local gardaí upon his release.
