2 August 2012 Last updated at 04:27 ET

Rapist Edward Connors granted conditional bail

Edward Connors failed to turn up at a court hearing in Belfast last month

A convicted rapist from Northern Ireland has been released on conditional bail by a court in the Irish Republic.

Edward Connors, 19, was sought by police in Northern Ireland after failing to turn up at a court hearing in Belfast last month.

He was later arrested in Dublin and charged with failing to notify the Irish police of his whereabouts.

He was 15 when he twice raped a US tourist in west Belfast in 2008.

Connors was released from prison earlier this year after serving four years of an eight-year sentence.

He breached a condition of his probation after he failed to turn up at Belfast Magistrates Court last month.

On Wednesday, an Irish police officer told Cloverhill District Court in Dublin that the prosecution service in Northern Ireland intended to get a European Arrest Warrant for Connors.

A defence solicitor said Connors' aunt was prepared to offer him somewhere to live in Dublin.

Connors was ordered to live at a house at Labre Park in Ballyfermot, Dublin, and told to obey a curfew. He was also directed to sign on twice daily at Ballyfermot Garda Station and provide confirmation that he has made contact with the police station at Grosvenor Road in west Belfast within 14 days.

He was told he would not be able to leave Dublin other than to attend appointments with members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Connors was ordered to appear again in four weeks.