“Shakespeare rapist” moves to Britain after release from prison

We can exclusively reveal that twisted rapist Francis Condra – nicknamed the ‘Shakespeare Rapist’ – has now relocated to the UK following his release from prison two weeks ago.

Evil Condra – who changed his name to Hassan Selim and converted to Islam while in prison – was released on Thursday May 30 after spending 16 years behind bars for subjecting a woman to a vile five-hour sexual assault in which he repeatedly raped her and slashed her genitals with a carving knife. We tracked down the part-time actor and playwright nicknamed ‘The Shakespeare Rapist’ and found that he had spent time at a relative’s home in North Louth since his release from Arbour Hill Prison.

And a day after his release, the depraved monster was spotted by this newspaper getting out of the passenger seat of a vehicle and entering the house – but when he spotted our photographer, he was hiding his face under his coat. With his hair now gray in a ponytail and his beard graying, the registered sex offender was almost unrecognizable compared to when he was incarcerated 16 years ago, when he had jet black hair.

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When we called the house again on Thursday to ask Condra nasty questions, a woman opened the door and when we asked if Francis Condra was there, she replied: “No, he is not.” She then told us: “It’s none of your business, get out as quickly as you came” and threatened to call the Gardai.

Now we can reveal that Condra has moved to the UK in recent days and has informed British police of his new whereabouts. “He only stayed at the house in North Louth for a few days before flying to the UK where he now lives,” sources told us.

The twisted maniac was convicted by a jury in 2006 following an 11-day trial at the Central Criminal Court after being found guilty of raping, sexually assaulting, depriving one’s liberty and assaulting a woman in Drogheda, Co Louth. The court heard Condra dragged his victim into a bedroom by her hair, repeatedly raped her and slashed her genitals with a carving knife.

During the trial, Det Garda Seamus Nolan, of Drogheda, told the court: “In 22 years in An Garda Siochana I have never witnessed a more brutal or prolonged attack.” The rapist, of Upper Magdalene Street in Drogheda, attacked his victim after a party at his home on November 8, 2003.

He began his sick attack at around 2am and it lasted for around five hours. During that time, the 40-year-old woman, who had only met him that evening through friends at a local pub, put up a brave resistance. When everyone else had left, she was just packing up her things when Condra attacked her. He knelt over her, verbally abused her and ordered her to take off her clothes.

She begged him to stop, but he refused and ripped off her skirt, one of her boots, and her pantyhose. The woman was held against her will in his apartment until about 7 a.m. and raped three or four times. She screamed for help the whole time, but a neighbor who heard her thought she was having a domestic dispute.

The victim, who said she thought she was going to die, cut her hand as she tried to grab the knife in self-defence. She eventually managed to hail a taxi and the driver took her straight to Drogheda Garda Station where an officer called an ambulance. The woman was treated at both Our Lady Of Lourdes Hospital and Rotunda Hospital.

She directed police to Condra’s apartment, where they found the blood-stained knife, blood-soaked walls, headboard, bed cover and mattress. Her bra and bracelet were also there. Her injuries included two black eyes, swelling on her face and head, scratches on her legs and arms and a 4cm cut on her genitals.

Defense attorney Anthony Salmon said: “My client does not question the jury’s verdict in any way. He deeply regrets what he did.”

Judge Henry Abbott imposed a 16-year sentence for the rape and eight years for aggravated sexual assault, three years for assault and three years for false imprisonment, all to be served concurrently. Judge Abbott said: “This rape is at the higher end of the seriousness scale. It is even more serious because it is linked to a system of violence… a cruel and threatening one. The victim deserves credit for daring the defendant to kill her. This might have stopped him from doing something even worse.” After the verdict, Condra’s victim said the 16-year sentence was “appropriate”.

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