A 41-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Sean Small in Newcastle, County Down.
The body of Mr Small, who was 84, was found outside his home on Slievenabrock Avenue late on Sunday night after what police described as a “brutal and sustained attack”.
Small was last seen alive on the afternoon of Tuesday 19 August, five days before his body was discovered and had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for sexual offences.
The 41-year-old is due to appear before Newtownards Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
In 2022, Small pleaded guilty to 10 sexual offences against a woman described as “vulnerable” and a teenage girl.
He was sentenced to three years in prison and three years under supervision in the community.