Provisional IRA Linchpin convicted of sex crime

Convicted rapist Stephen “Rossi” Walsh has received a further three years in prison for simulating sex on a seven-year-old girl over 20 years ago.










Walsh (63) was found guilty by a jury following a three day trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last month of two charges of indecent assault against the child on dates between May and September 1988.







He is currently serving a 10 sentence imposed last February for later raping a nine-year-old-girl in the early 1990s.







Walsh, formerly of Belgrave Road, Rathgar, but who gave his address as “The Irish Republic”, represented himself throughout the trial. He had pleas of not guilty entered on his behalf after he refused to take part in the arraignment process while the jury was being sworn in.







Walsh told Judge Patrick McCartan that he was taking “no hand, act, or part” in today’s sentence hearing after his application challenging the legality of procedures bringing him before the court and his request to have the hearing adjourned while he appealed the conviction were refused.







Judge McCartan said Walsh, who was a “serious criminal”, had taken advantage of a young girl and the woman had been obliged to relive the experience again during the trial where she was cross-examined by Walsh. “I have a clear recollection of her stressed condition,” he said.







He imposed a three year sentence which will begin on the expiration of his current 10 year sentence. Judge McCartan said he hoped the woman could move forward with her life and that things would be better for her in the future.







During the trial, the now 29-year-old victim told the court that on two occasions when she visited Walsh’s home at the time, he made her lie face down on a bed with a pillow under her stomach. She said the accused lay on top of her and moved “as if he was having sex” and she heard moaning noises.







The victim was cross examined during the trial by Walsh, who asked her why it had taken her so long to come forward.







“Because I was ashamed, you hurt me and when you tell people you have to deal with it,” she replied. She later said: “I was ashamed. I felt dirty and ashamed.”







“You know, you were there. You don’t know how upsetting it is, you don’t know how this has effected my life and you can stand there and question me,” she told Walsh. “You say you want your rights, what about the rights of a child.”







Det Gda Barry Walsh said a complaint by the victim was made to gardaí in April 2007 and Walsh was arrested in July of that year. He said the offences still have a serious effect on the woman’s life and relationships and she has attempted suicide.







Her victim impact statement was handed in to Judge McCartan but was not read in open court.







Walsh has 16 previous convictions for offences including the rape post-dating this offence, as well as earlier offences dating back to 1965. In 1993 he received a 15 year sentence at the Special Criminal Court for arson. He has also been convicted of armed robbery, road traffic offences, larceny and malicious damage.



Story to Date:



The Sentencing of Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh for Child Rape









In 1993 when Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh was sentenced to 15 years for blowing up a pub in Ballybough, Stephen Walsh was afforded all of the trappings of a Political Prisoner. He was brought before the Special Criminal Court, he was surrounded by armed Gardai, and he was upon sentence taken to Portloaise Prison to serve his sentence with the other PIRA prisoners housed there. The reason Rossi was afforded the trappings of a political prisoner was the fact that he was a senior member of the PIRA in Dublin. Rossi was involved in a protection racket for the PIRA when he blew up the pub in Ballybough. Rossi had been found badly burned inside the pub when the bomb had gone off prematurely. Rossi told the court that he was simply walking past the pub and was sucked in by the explosion.







Stephen Walsh would eventually tire of the controlling mentality of the PIRA prisoners in Portloaise and he was then transferred to Limerick Prison, then to Cork Prison and eventually Wheatfield Prison. By the time Stephen Walsh reached Wheatfield Prison, he had lost over two years in remission for assaults on prison officers and other lesser offences. Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh was popular in all of the prisons in which he was housed. Rossi was and remains a keen footballer; he gained his nick name from a famous footballer named Rossi.







Rossi focused his attention on studying law when he reached Wheatfield. And Rossi soon became infamous around the Four Courts as he brought legal challenge after legal challenge on behalf of less knowledgeable prisoners and indeed himself. However, his greatest victory in the courts came shortly before his release from his 15 year sentence, when he successfully won back his two years lost remission. The courts took the view that Rossi had not been afforded fair procedures during his various disciplinary hearings in the various prisons. As a result of this victory the rules have now changed in relation to the loss of remission, i.e. a prisoner has the right to be legally represented at such hearings.







Upon Rossi’s release from Wheatfield Prison, Rossi found a new world order in his old tramping ground. Rossi had been behind bars for 12 years, he now returned to a Dublin that had been transformed. He said, “Even the feakin money is like monopoly money”, the punt had been replaced by the Euro since Rossi’s incarceration. Rossi was soon back playing football and indeed had intended to set up his own legal firm to help young lads who had fallen foul of the law.







However, Rossi’s return to society was soon to be meet by the Ghosts of his past. Rossi’s fondness of the media camera would be his down fall. Upon his release Rossi was seen on camera by a young woman whom Rossi had raped before he had gone to prison. The young woman contacted Gardai and made a statement, stating that she had been raped by Rossi when she was nine years old. Rossi denied the charges; however, he was convicted by a jury. Rossi in true republican tradition refused to offer a plea to the charges and so Mr Justice Carney entered a plea of not guilty, as is common practice.











At the end of the trial and upon delivery of the jury’s guilty verdict, Mr Justice Carney took the unusual step of asking the Gardai to read out Rossi’s previous convictions. Mr Justice Carney said he had done this so that the jury could see what they had been dealing with. However, this is highly unusual and perhaps Mr Justice Carney over stepped the mark on this occasion as he felt so moved to do so, based on the detail of the case before him. The jury when they have delivered their verdict have served their duty and are not entitled to be exposed to any further details of the case in this manner.







Yesterday (15th/2/2010) Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh appeared before Mr Justice Carney for a pre-sentencing hearing. Mr Justice Carney said that the details of the case against Stephen Walsh were, “One of the most repulsive sex offences ever encountered at the Central Criminal Court in my 18 years serving here”.







In contrast Mr Walsh’s defence team could simply ask Mr Carney to take into account Mr Walsh’s age when sentencing as they could offer no other mitigation. Mr Walsh is now 62 years old. For those of us who know the indicators often set down by Judges, Rossi is facing a very long sentence on Friday when he appears before Mr Carney once more for sentencing. It is also interesting to note that the Prosecuting counsel in this case Isobel Kennedy SC read out the Victim Impact statement.







Mr Justice Carney will be tempted to impose a life sentence. However, Mr Carney knows well that such a sentence in such a case will be challenged with intensity. It is therefore more realistic to suggest that Mr Justice Carney will impose a 15 year sentence on Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh. Such a sentence will upon appeal be reduced to 12 years and in any event Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh will be in his 70s when he is released.







Stephen ‘Rossi’ Walsh returned to Wheatfield Prison yesterday evening to rejoin his fellow prisoners in the Print Shop. Rossi has now been joined in the Print Shop by Eamon Lillis, who was recently convicted of the manslaughter of his wife Celine Cawley. However, unlike other prisoners Rossi does not engage in menial work such as printing and cutting prison stationery. No, already yesterday evening Rossi was sitting on his computer preparing an appeal. His appeal will be based on technicalities which is his speciality.