Survivor questions safeguards after jailed sex offender placed in family hotel
Sonya Stokes, who was repeatedly sexually abused by her uncle Joseph Hogan between the ages of seven and 11, has described her shock after he was released from prison and placed in a hotel used by homeless people alongside families and children. Hogan was staying under a different name, prompting questions about safeguarding, risk assessment and supervision of serious sex offenders after release.
Stokes said relatives ignored her childhood attempts to seek help, but she was eventually supported by Garda investigators as an adult; Hogan was extradited from the UK to Ireland in 2014 and sentenced to 15 years in 2015. He was released in March 2025 and died late last year. Ireland’s Probation Service said sex offenders must notify An Garda Síochána of any alias or name change, and failing to do so is an offence.
- Abuse survivor says her uncle was housed near children after prison.
- Hogan stayed at the hotel under another name.
- The case raises concerns over offender supervision and child safeguarding.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “I suffered years of abuse at the hands of my paedophile uncle before he was finally jailed. On his release, I was shocked at what the state allowed to happen…”.