Police Launch Hunt For Sex Offender On The Run For Second Time

Police were last night hunting for a high risk sex offender who has gone on the run for the second time in seven months. The public alarm was raised after 78-year-old Robert Simpson Wallace, who police said poses a serious risk to women and children, breached his probation conditions by going missing on Thursday.

Police last night asked Wallace, who had been living in Belfast, to give himself up.

A spokesman said: “The public should not attempt to approach Wallace but should contact police by calling 999 if they believe they know where he may be.

“He is described as 5ft 5ins, of thin build, weighing about 9st. He has brown eyes, a ruddy complexion and speaks with a Belfast accent. He has receding grey hair and sometimes wears glasses. He may be in the company of a woman in her 60s.”

The sex offender was arrested in Lurgan in August 2006 after failing to comply with probation conditions.

He had left his approved accommodation in Belfast and had failed to sign the sex offenders register. The new warning has once again sparked serious concern over the monitoring of convicted sex offenders.

There was fury in October after a convicted paedophile, who breached his probation conditions by leaving Northern Ireland, escaped punishment after no moves were made to deport him from the Republic.

A massive manhunt was launched when Paul Hunter Redpath (35) went missing from his approved accommodation at the end of September.

Despite the fact that he failed to comply with his probation conditions – meaning he could be automatically returned to prison – both the PSNI and Garda Siochana said he would be allowed to remain in the Republic.

According to William McAuley, the head of MASRAM – the umbrella body that manages and assesses sex offenders – 97% of people ordered to notify police comply with requirements. Only a small percentage of people do not comply.