Randi Gladstone did not arrive with an unknown past. Britain had convicted him 19 times, including for rape, kidnapping and false imprisonment, deported him and barred his return. He entered Ireland on 11 August 2023, failed to register as a sex offender and raped an 18-year-old exactly two weeks later.
A known record crossed the border
The Guyanese national, also reported as Randi Dextroy Gladston, had been deported from Britain in 2015, excluded from returning and placed indefinitely on its sex-offender register. He travelled from Suriname through Schiphol and entered Ireland. Foreign convictions triggered a seven-day duty to notify Gardaí; he did not comply.
On 25 August he lured an 18-year-old into his room at shared holiday accommodation, propositioned her, offered money, ignored repeated refusals, raped her, sexually assaulted her three times and falsely imprisoned her. A jury convicted him. Mr Justice Patrick McGrath found planning and cunning and imposed ten years.
A separate six-month consecutive term followed for failing to notify Gardaí. In March 2026, the Court of Appeal rejected his conviction appeal.
The British bar worked — after the Irish crime
Early on 26 August, Gladstone bought a ferry ticket to Britain. He could not board because Britain’s exclusion remained active and was arrested soon afterward. The British system recognised the bar at departure. The unanswered question is why the same underlying rape and kidnapping history produced no effective intervention when he entered Ireland two weeks earlier.
Gardaí initially said they did not know how he entered; later proceedings established the Suriname–Schiphol route. The public record does not reveal what identity and criminal-history checks occurred, whether British alerts were available or whether any automated warning fired.
Chronology
- 2015: Britain deported and barred Gladstone after a record including rape and kidnapping.
- 11 August 2023: Entered Ireland through Schiphol; seven-day notification duty began.
- 25 August 2023: Raped and falsely imprisoned an 18-year-old.
- 26 August 2023: Tried to travel to Britain but was refused under its exclusion.
- 14 March 2025: Ten-year rape sentence imposed.
- 25 June 2025: Consecutive six months for failing to register.
- 19 March 2026: Conviction appeal dismissed.
Bail chronology
Gladstone received bail on the notification charge on 29 August 2023. The rape had already occurred, so it would be false to claim that bail enabled this attack. The legitimate question is what supervision and immigration action followed once authorities held an unregistered foreign sex offender with no Irish ties and an attempted return to a country that barred him.
Taxpayer exposure
At the 2024 average of €99,072 per staffed prison space, the aggregate ten-and-a-half-year sentence produces a gross benchmark of €1,040,256.
Questions the State should answer
- What checks occurred when Gladstone entered on 11 August 2023?
- Could Irish systems access his British deportation, exclusion and sex-offender records?
- If accessible, why was there no intervention?
- If inaccessible, has the sharing failure been repaired?
- Is an Irish deportation plan prepared for the end of sentence?
- How will the State prevent onward movement repeating the pattern?
A dangerous offender’s known history protects nobody if the next country does not receive, recognise or act on it.
Sources
- Irish Examiner, 29 August 2023 — notification case and bail.
- The Irish Times, 14 March 2025 — rape, previous record and sentence.
- RTÉ, 25 June 2025 — consecutive notification sentence.
- The Irish Times, 19 March 2026 — appeal dismissal.
- Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 — cost benchmark.