Joseph's space

By J. P. Anderson:

It is now close to the time of the year (July to September) when a brutal rapist whom struck for two years in succession in the County Westmeath Town of Athlone, may return to the town.

Despite a massive Garda manhunt, he still remains at large and now he may have cause (at around this time of the year) to return to Athlone where he has in the past attacked five women raping at least three of them.

Crimestoppers have posted a reward of €10,000 for information which may lead to his capture.

Gardai in Athlone stress the importance of members of the public remaining on alert for a possible return of this rapist to the town where he is likely to attack again.

Anybody with information should contact Athlone Gardai Station at: 0906-498550.

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A major investigation is under way in Athlone to catch a mystery attacker believed to have assaulted five women, and locals believe he will be found.

'These guys aren't dodgy-looking loner types but appear entirely normal,' says forensic psychologist Mike Berry

'We're going looking for the rapist," jokes an Athlone student in an electric pink tutu and matching knee-high socks. She skips down the road having left the pub hand in hand with a friend, dressed identically. They head in the direction of Bonavalley Bridge, where four women have been attacked, one of them a student less than a fortnight ago.

At 7pm, it's still quite bright out and the students are drinking outside a pub opposite Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), enjoying the sunshine. Some are already the worse for wear.

A town on high alert with a serial sex attacker on the loose this isn't. While a major garda operation is under way to catch the man most people believe is responsible for five attacks on women in 13 months, the student population is in high spirits and brimming with opinions.

"Whoever's doing this is a real loser," according to one young male student drinking outside the same pub. "When he tries to rape them, most of them get away. He can't even do that right."

Inside the college, others are taking a more mature view. "We're advising people to look out for each other, be vigilant, don't walk alone," says AIT students' union president Micheál Fogarty. "I've met with the student who was attacked last week. She's OK, still a bit down. I didn't ask her too much about it. I didn't want her to have to go through all the details again."

Four attacks

The four attacks at Bonavalley Bridge, the first of which was in August of last year (2007) all occurred within yards of each other. Houses surround the leafy, middle-class area but so do disused car parks and wasteland. The attacker may have also chosen this spot because the railway beneath it provides a handy escape route.

While gardaí have stopped short of linking these four assaults and the fifth last Saturday morning three kilometres away, locals here have no doubt. The last attack at Hallsbridge had all the trademarks of the previous assaults – a woman on her own dragged from behind just beside a railway track.

It's likely he'll strike again and he's probably not the loner type most people imagine, according to an expert in criminal profiling.

"It's worrying that his attacks are escalating. This suggests that he has succeeded elsewhere," says Mike Berry, who lectures in forensic psychology at Dublin Business School and has assisted police investigations in Britain with psychological profiling. He has analysed the serial attacker in Athlone since the first attack last year. "He most likely has a partner but they don't live together because he'd have to explain being out at odd hours of the night. Most research also shows these guys aren't dodgy-looking loner types but appear entirely normal."

Gardaí in Athlone have hired a psychological profiler to assist in this case. "I believe he lives within a ten-mile radius of the town," Berry says. "He quite possibly lives about two or three miles from the college since four of the attacks have been very near it. He clearly knows the area well. He picks dark areas and tries to assault women when they're vulnerable, late at night and often after a few drinks. He's also shown he's clever because the two spots are beside a railway line, a good escape route."

A foreign national was questioned last year about one of the attacks when his work colleagues became suspicious and tipped off gardaí that he'd been missing from work for a few days. The man was released and gardaí were satisfied he was not the perpetrator. But this is how the rumour started that the attacker may be Lithuanian.

"There's no evidence whatsoever that he's a foreigner," Berry says. "The only thing is that none of his victims has heard his voice, which could be an indicator but it's not a very strong one. Also because he hasn't spoken, we can't tell anything about his social background."

Berry believes gardaí should now be looking at sexual attacks in nearby cities and towns as he may well have struck outside Athlone.

"He's acting out his fantasies and is an opportunist who knows when to strike. The more experiences he gets, the more violent he becomes," he says. "The fact the attacks are getting more frequent suggests he's confident and his desire will keep him going. At the moment, he feels untouchable."

Superintendent Aidan Glacken, who is heading the investigation in Athlone, told the Sunday Tribune that gardaí who photographed 700 men in Athlone to eliminate them from their enquiries also obtained voluntary DNA samples from them. Are gardaí examining any links to sex attacks in nearby towns and cities?

"Every possibility is being looked into. The garda commissioner has provided us with whatever resources are deemed necessary. The investigation is progressing well. There has been a large amount of support from the general public and with their assistance, and when we establish all the facts, we will bring this case to a conclusion."

Investigators have carried out 6,000 house-to-house inquiries in their bid to track down the attacker. There's no doubt about it, a massive police hunt is under way. But some locals aren't impressed by their efforts, saying it took five horrifying ordeals for women before gardaí began to take this seriously.

"They've been very slow. We're lucky one of those women wasn't killed," says local man John Ryan, who is having a drink in The Grove, the pub next-door to the 24-hour garage which the 26-year-old woman visited minutes before she was attacked early last Saturday morning. "Why didn't they put CCTV cameras around Bonavalley Bridge after the second attack – simple, basic stuff that could have caught this guy last year?"

His friend Paddy McGovern nods in agreement. "Even getting a woman garda to hang around the area late at night might have made a difference. How they haven't caught him yet is beyond me."

But the gardaí do have some support. "I've seen what the guards are doing and I praise them," says student union president Micheál Fogarty. "They never stopped investigating the case. The steps are in place to get surveillance cameras at Bonavalley Bridge but these things take time."

Huge amount of publicity

At Bonavalley Bridge on Thursday afternoon, a group of what appear to be plain-clothes gardaí are examining how easily someone can jump from the road down to the tracks, which is a drop of less than half a metre in some places. Garda cars also frequently patrol the area. But because of the huge media and police focus on the case at the moment, some doubt the attacker would dare to strike again in the current climate.

"He's been clever enough not to have got caught so far," says Mike Berry. "He might not strike for some time because of the huge amount of publicity right now."

One thing everyone is convinced about is that he will eventually be caught. No-one wants to imagine having to deal with the problem of a sex attacker on the prowl long-term.

"These are phantom attacks. The man doing this is someone who disappeared for a while and is now striking again," says local Fianna Fáil town councillor John Butler. "He's erratic. He's going to make a mistake at some stage or else someone will come forward with information, hopefully sooner rather than later."

But Berry maintains that just because everyone wants this dangerous criminal caught, that doesn't mean it will happen.

"If he stays in the area, he might well be caught. But if he leaves the area soon he has a good chance of getting away with it and most likely repeating this behaviour elsewhere. Well, he hasn't got caught yet, has he?"

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By J. P. Anderson:

Investigators are searching for clues to discover how a blaze started in a block of London flats killing six people, including three children.

Police were contacting relatives of the dead today as witnesses told how flames tore through several floors of the tower block in Camberwell.

The victims were a three-week-old baby, a six-year-old, a seven-year-old, two women and an unidentified adult.

A further 12 people were injured in the fire which engulfed Lakanal House in Havil Street, in the south esat of the city.

More than 100 firefighters and 18 fire engines battled the blaze, which is thought to have started on the fourth floor but quickly spread to the eleventh.

The fire service said 30 people trapped in the building were rescued in "extremely difficult circumstances".

Paul Glenny, one of the firefighters involved, said: "I've been in the job for 30 years, and I've never seen anything like it.

"The hot weather and the fact that people's windows were open made the fire what it was."

Residents who escaped the blaze were taken to an evacuation centre in nearby Welton Hall, Bushey Road, where they remained this morning.

Speaking from the centre Nancy Kanu, 28, who lived on the fifth floor of the tower, said: "We saw smoke coming in through the window.

"The stairs were all full of smoke. We were really scared because we couldn't walk. We were crawling through the smoke.

"My sister was there with her three-day-old baby who is now suffering breathing problems and I was with my two

Kids."

London fire brigade spokesman David Bullbrock told Sky News: "It was a significant fire which developed very quickly and we'll have to investigate why that happened.

"We have contained the fire but we will continue to search the building until we're satisfied there is no one else remaining inside."

Sky reporter Eleanor Jeffery described the scene as "horrific".

"The situation is under control but the block of flats has been severely damaged. The fire must have been extremely fierce," she added.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 4.20pm.

Michael Thompson, 17, who lives in the block, said: "There was a big bang that sounded like an explosion.

"People were screaming. I heard people shouting 'Fire, fire'.

"I called 999 when I saw the flames and they said they were already on their way. I could smell the smoke from inside my flat so I closed the windows.

"This black smoke was pouring out of the windows."

Sarah Gresty, who lives in Havil Street, said she could see a column of flames and smoke in flats going up a number of floors.

She said: "It was very alarming seeing it. The fire was going in quite a few flats. It was shocking to see the quantities of smoke and flames."

Southwark councillor Ian Wingfield, who represents Brunswick Park - the ward in which the flats are situated - said there are 108 flats in the block.

Lakanal House was built in the 1960s on the Sceaux Gardens Estate which is owned and managed by the council, with people living there on a leasehold or tenant basis.

Mr Wingfield said: "This is an extremely tragic incident. The condolences of myself and my other colleagues on the council go out to the families involved.

"We hope that we can sort matters out as quickly as possible so that people are put in accommodation to begin with and then hopefully they can go back into the block.

"But we are not going to move people back in there until all the health and safety aspects have been covered."

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By J. P. Anderson:

GARDAÍ have smashed a wholesale cocaine factory operated by one of the country’s biggest drug traffickers.

Officers seized a large haul of the drug – valued officially at around €1.5 million – when they stopped a taxi in north Dublin.
In a follow-up search, they raided a nearby house and found a cocaine factory, with compressors and other drug paraphernalia.
The raids were conducted by the Balbriggan Drug Unit as part of an ongoing operation into drug gangs in the area.
Sources said the gang is a notorious trafficking network, led by a crime boss originally from Coolock, north Dublin. This man now has houses in Cavan and Meath. Last March, he was arrested by the Garda Organised Crime Unit.
A garda spokesman said the cocaine was seized when a car was stopped at Balrothery, Balbriggan, by the local drug unit.
He said cocaine to the value of €1.5m, subject to analysis, was seized.
Two men were arrested at the scene. Two other men were arrested when gardaí searched a house in Balrothery.
Three were taken to Balbriggan Garda Station and one was detained at Swords Garda Station.
All four are held under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.
It was not clear yesterday what quantity of cocaine that was seized.
Garda sources said north county Dublin, as well as Meath and Louth, were "a hub of gangland activity" after gangs from Coolock, and other areas, including Finglas, moved out to those areas because of garda pressure.

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By J. P. Anderson:

GUN clubs are being infiltrated to help train criminals in the use of handguns, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has told the Dáil.

He defended a provision in the new Criminal Justice Bill outlawing "practical and dynamic" shooting drills which involve role-play situations. "What has been going on in some of these shooting ranges is nothing other than mimicking combat-style shooting," he said.
Mr Ahern said bona fide gun club groups had written to him in support of the measure, because they had no desire to promote this type of activity.
He said his ban was designed to prevent gangs using legitimate sports to prepare for criminal activity.
Earlier, the Labour Party’s justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte proposed an amendment requiring supervision, vetting and safety measures instead of the unnecessary curtailment of sports shooting. He said he did not envy Mr Ahern’s dilemma, but asked that it not be too draconian. He also wondered "why the minister was so focused on this particular objective in the bill".
"I have listened to what was said at committee stage and I am still somewhat in the dark as to why it is such a high priority with him.
"The impression I formed is that the minister fears you can join one of these clubs and you can become skilled in the use of firearms and you can subsequently use these skills for anti-social purposes," he said.
Mr Rabbitte said, if that was the case, Mr Ahern should have taken on his amendment to vet members rather than issue an outright ban on practical shooting.

Fine Gael’s Charlie Flanagan, who tabled a similar amendment, said there were official Olympic sports which would be outlawed in Ireland because of the law.
However, the minister said he had consulted widely with clubs and the gardaí and there was little objection to a focused ban on this type of training.
He said while "99.9%" of the country’s gun owners were good people he had to act if he thought aspects of the sport were being abused by criminal elements.

NEW laws allowing for gangland crimes to be tried in the Special Criminal Court have been allocated just 90 minutes for Dáil debate on the last day before it breaks for summer holidays next week.

This compares to almost five hours allowed for a debate on a bill outlining payment methods for members of the European Parliament to which there were no amendments tabled and was not disputed by opposition parties. The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009 is one of 12 pieces of legislation which will be rushed through the Dáil in its last week of sittings with limited time for discussion.
The use of "guillotines" or cut-off points for debates has been taken to a "new level of ridiculousness", Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore warned yesterday.
He said the law dealing with gangland crime "has far-reaching implications for the criminal justice system".
Mr Gilmore added: "Whatever members’ views on its content, 90 minutes is hardly sufficient time to allow the degree of scrutiny a bill of this type requires."
Addressing the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan in the Dáil, Mr Gilmore said: "It is not unusual that we find ourselves in a position at the end of a Dáil session where the Government is using the guillotine to push through legislation, either to get it out of the way or to minimise the amount of public attention it will receive. However, on this occasion, it has taken the use of the guillotine and the ordering of business to a new level of ridiculousness."
The issue arose before a debate on a bill yesterday which provides for the use of a European arrest warrant and restricts the licensing of hand guns.
The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill yesterday was given just two and a half hours for debate.
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín O Caoláin said: "We should allow each bill to have its natural time."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny also objected. "Given that we have had a complete scarcity of legislation on so many occasions in the past 12 months, this is not the way to do business," he said.
The Tánaiste said the time allocation could not be changed because it was already agreed.
The issue went to a vote which the Government won, and the debate went ahead in the time allocated.
Mr Gilmore said the order of business of the Dáil was ludicrous. "All of this business could probably be done without any guillotine," he said.

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By J. P. Anderson:

FAMILIES WHO say their relatives were mistreated in the mental health system have urged the Government to establish an independent inquiry into care standards across a number of psychiatric services.

A group which included representatives from Action On Elder Abuse, a former nurse from mental health services in Co Clare, and relatives of former patients met with Minister of State for mental health John Moloney to discuss calls for an inquiry yesterday.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Bridie Cox, a former nurse in the mental health service in Co Clare, said she had been shocked by the treatment of many older people, in particular those with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Among the type of ill-treatment she says she witnessed included the over-sedation of patients, physical abuse, bullying, intimidation and neglect.

She says she left the health service as she could no longer tolerate the mistreatment of residents. “I was shocked when I came home after working as a nurse in the UK. It was like going back in time. I saw patients being bullied, intimidated and kicked.”

She says she raised her concerns with health authorities at the time, but her concerns were found to be “groundless”.

Families of people in the care of mental health services in the mid-west also said they were not satisfied with the response of health authorities to their concerns.

The Health Service Executive locally says it is undertaking a “management review” of allegations and complaints, as well as investigations into individual complaints. However, Lourda Finn, whose father died while in the care of mental health services, said relatives, wanted an independent inquiry.

Their calls for an inquiry come just months after an inquiry by the State’s mental health watchdog into two psychiatric hospitals found evidence that intellectually disabled residents were being inappropriately administered tranquillisers to control their behaviour.

The report into standards at St Michael’s unit, South Tipperary General Hospital, and St Luke’s hospital, both in Clonmel, found widespread failures to provide proper standards of care to residents. These included wards being unnecessarily locked, overuse of seclusion and a lack of needs-based therapeutic or recreation activities.

Following a meeting with Mr Moloney yesterday, Jack Keaveney of Action On Elder Abuse said they had been promised a response to their calls for an inquiry by the end of this month.

He also said the group highlighted the need for the HSE’s elder abuse officers to have greater powers to inspect facilities or advocate on behalf of patients.

“What’s important to stress is that these incidents we’re highlighting are not isolated and they’re not confined to Clare or anywhere else.”

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By J. P. Anderson:

80 people have been arrested in Dublin in the last 48 hours by gardaí investigating drug dealing.

The 72 men and eight women had previously been charged with offences relating to the supply of serious controlled drugs.

100 homes across Dublin have been searched as part of Operation Feeder, which was set up to tackle drug dealing at street level.

Gardaí said they have broken up the supply network of two criminal gangs.

The operation was led by the Garda National Drugs Unit and included units in Store Street, Pearse Street, Kilmainham and district drug units throughout the city.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said the force is committed to 'tackling drug supply at all levels'.

The operation has been ongoing for the past five months.

More than 100 homes were searched as part of the operation. Officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit, Pearse Street, Kilmainham and Store Street stations and district drug units throughout the city region took part in raids.

A total of 120 charges have been laid against the 80 suspects, some of whom have already appeared before the courts.

Det Supt Michael O’Sullivan, of the National Drugs Unit said while most of the arrests had taken place within Dublin, some had been made in outlying counties such as Carlow and Kildare. Further arrests were also expected, he said.

“It’s not a drop in the ocean. The people targeted are an integral part of the drugs supply network,” he said. “They were targeted as part of the Garda strategy to reduce demand and supply of drugs in the city and the country as a whole.”

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said the force was committed to tackling the supply of drugs.

“The Garda National Drugs Unit working with local Garda drug units will ensure a co-ordinated and effective approach to protecting our communities, individuals and their families from the harm, pain and destruction caused by illicit drug use,” Mr Murphy said.

“We will continue to work with other agencies and communities in tackling the drug problem in this country.”

Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh welcomed the move, saying it was the type of solid, intelligence-based police work needed to tackle drugs and serious crime, rather than the measures proposed in the Criminal Justice Bill published this week.

The latest arrests came as five people were held over a seizure of cocaine in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, on Wednesday.

The haul, with an estimated street value of €1.5 million, was recovered following the search of a vehicle in the Balrothery area of Balbriggan on Wednesday afternoon.

Two men were arrested at the scene, with two further arrests made after a follow-up search of a house in Balrothery revealed drug paraphernalia. A fifth person was arrested late on Wednesday night.

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By J. P. Anderson:

Brain tumours in young men and women are the leading cause of cancer death in the UK, according to research.

They kill more men under 45 and women under 35 than any other cancer, reveals Brain Tumour Research.

And brain tumours have overtaken leukaemia as the biggest cancer killer of children in the UK, with the number of children dying from a brain tumour in 2007, up 33% on 2001.

While overall mortality rates from cancer are falling despite an actual rise in cases, survival rates for brain tumour patients are getting worse.

Brain tumours cannot be prevented because their cause is still unknown, medical experts say, explaining that research is being "forgotten" and desperately underfunded.

There has been concern in recent years that the use of mobile phones might be contributing to illness, but subsequent studies have ruled it out.

"What is happening is that more tumours are being diagnosed, but the survival rate is staying the same," a BTR spokeswoman told Sky News Online.

Brain tumour research currently receives less than 1% of all cancer research spent in the UK.

That works out annually at £3m, out of a total £426m.

Now, a new research laboratory - funded entirely by individual donations - is being opened at London's Charing Cross Hospital with the hope of finding ways to develop better treatment for brain tumours.

"The opening of the laboratory is an important first step, but is just a drop in the ocean of what is needed," said BTR chairman, Wendy Fulcher.

Consultant Neurosurgeon and lecturer and Imperial College Kevin O'Neill said: "Brain tumours can afflict anyone of us, increasingly the younger section of the population which has led to brain tumours causing the biggest reduction in expected lifespan than any other cancer.

"They can't be prevented or screened for as we don't know the cause. It is frustrating that treatment options are so limited. More research is desperately needed, but we are struggling to get funds."

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By J. P. Anderson:

Britain's hottest week could become a washout with parts of the country put on flood alert.

The Environment Agency warned south Wales and southwest England are set to be hit by flash floods.

Weather forecaster Tony Conran said: "There remains a possibility for the hottest day of the year but for other parts there could be floods.

"There's an area of very heavy rain moving in towards the hills of Bodmin and Exmoor. Anywhere in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset there could be a hell of a lot of rain."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "The Environment Agency and Met Office are warning homeowners, businesses and drivers in south west England and South Wales that heavy, thundery rain could lead to flash flooding, particularly from surface water drains and small watercourses."

Forecasters had previously raised the heatwave warning alert level from two to three with the current weather spell the hottest since July 2006.

The heatwave plan alert is in four stages, with green level one signalling "summer preparedness and long-term planning".

Level two is amber and signals "alert and readiness", while three is red for "heatwave action". Level four is classed as "red emergency".

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By J. P. Anderson:

Middle-aged people who live alone have double the risk of dementia compared with those who are married or have a partner, researchers have said.

There is a "substantial" link between marital status and dementia and having a partner appears to offer protection against mental decline in later life, they said.

A study showed that people who live alone in middle-age and are widowed or divorced have the highest chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

They are three times more likely to develop dementia, as are people who are single at middle-aged but also when they are older.

Researchers studied 1,449 people aged 50 on average and then again when they were between the ages of 65 and 79. They found that people living with a partner or married in mid-life were less likely than all other categories (single, separated or widowed) to have dementia in later life.

The experts suggested women overall had less chance of dementia than men, but called for more research on differences between the sexes.

The team of researchers was led by Miia Kivipelto from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they said: "Living in a relationship with a partner might imply cognitive and social challenges that have a protective effect against cognitive impairment later in life."

They concluded: "There is a substantial and independent association between marital status in mid-life and cognitive function later in life. People without a partner had twice the risk of developing cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease compared with people living with a partner.

"The risk for cognitive impairment was even higher for those without a partner both at mid-life and later life."

The researchers noted that, in 2005, an estimated 25 million people worldwide had dementia, and the number is expected to reach 81.1 million in 2040. In the UK, some 800,000 people have dementia but the figure is rising.

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By J. P. Anderson:

The number of swine flu cases could reach more than 100,000 per day by the end of next month, Health Secretary Andy Burnham has warned.

The UK has moved past the stage of containing the swine flu outbreak and into the "treatment phase", he said.

"We have reached the next stage in management of the disease," Mr Burnham told the Commons.

"The national focus will be on treating the increasing numbers affected by swine flu. We will move to this treatment phase across the UK with immediate effect."

There are now 7,447 laboratory-confirmed cases in the UK, he said.

London and the West Midlands have already had sufficiently high numbers to move towards a policy of outbreak management, which saw people with swine flu clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory reports.

Mr Burnham said that last week saw a "considerable rise" in swine flu cases.

"There are now on average several hundred new cases every day," he said.

"Our efforts during the containment phase have given us precious time to learn more about the virus. We have always known it would be impossible to contain the virus indefinitely and at some point we would need to move away from containment to treatment."

He added: "We have now signed contracts to secure enough vaccine for the whole population." The first will become available next month, with 60 million doses available by the end of the year.

(Editor’s note: Follow J. P. at: http://twitter.com/greagues2