Sick Belfast paedophile brothers shocked after being shunned by neighbours

Gary Rea (61) and Gregory Rea (69) were caught with thousands of images of children being sexually abused when police raided their home in the Gilnahirk area of east Belfast in January 2019.

The perverts have been pariahs in the community ever since, something they complained about when meeting with probation staff prior to being sentenced.

On Friday past the Reas walked free from Belfast Crown Court after a judge put them on probation for three years, explaining how the order was not a “soft option” and would better protect the public than jailing them for a few months.

The siblings pleaded guilty to a total of 42 counts of making indecent images of kids and possessing extreme pornographic images.

Gary Rea also grumbled about having to resign from his job in Belfast city council’s parks department because colleagues were up in arms about having to work with a self-confessed paedophile.

Sentencing the brothers, Judge Kinney said they “create the market that fuels the destruction of innocent young lives”.

Gary Rea, a former train conductor, was described as having a “deviant sexual interest” and a lack of insight into the plight of the abused children whose rape images he was viewing. He was said to pose a medium risk of reoffending and a low risk of harm.

Older brother Gregory Rea denied having a sexual interest in children. It was also revealed he was open and frank with police, had taken ownership of his behaviour and accepted responsibility for his actions.

Gregory previously refused to apologise for his crimes when challenged by Sunday World. Asked whether families in his neighbourhood should be concerned, the pensioner replied: “I don’t know, I wouldn’t tell the neighbours anything like that [about his convictions].”

Sources who tipped off Sunday World about the Rea brothers’ court case said their sinister behaviour had stunned neighbours.

One revealed: “They would be considered a bit eccentric, but no one thought they would have been into looking at pictures of children being abused.

“You would often see them doing DIY projects in the driveway of their home, but they have been keeping a low profile since it came out about them being paedophiles.

“The sad thing is they would have been well-liked and very friendly. It just goes to show that you never can tell what goes on in someone’s home when the blinds are closed.”