Former Irish swimming coach George Gibney agrees to extradition from US to face 79 charges for sexual offences
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14 mins ago
FORMER IRISH OLYMPIC swimming coach George Gibney, who is facing up to 79 charges, including attempted rape, relating to the alleged sexual abuse of four girls in Ireland, has agreed to be extradited from the US to Dublin.
Gibney, who was arrested in Florida last week, has withdrawn his application to contest his extradition ahead of a court appearance tomorrow, according to court documents seen by
The Journal.
The 77-year-old was living in the US for 30 years and was wanted for 79 alleged sexual assault offences, 78 for indecent assault and one for attempted rape, against four girls between 1 January 1971 and 14 August 1974.
Gibney was the founder of the Trojan Swimming Club in Blackrock in Dublin, where he also worked as a coach. He was also the Irish national swimming coach until 1991.
He was previously charged with 27 sexual offences in 1993, which were dropped in 1994 after Gibney secured a High Court injunction which prevented the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from prosecuting him.
Gibney then left Ireland for Scotland, where he continued to work as a swimming coach. He has lived in the United States since 1995. In 1997, a Garda investigation into Gibney was opened after fresh allegations were made against him.
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A specialist unit within the Garda National Protective Services Bureau launched a detailed inquiry after a garda probe was reopened in 2020 when several people made allegations on a
BBC and Second Captains podcast titled 'Where is George Gibney?'
.
After a three-year investigation, a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who recommended charging Gibney. Court documents relating to the case, lodged last week, refer to the podcast series extensively.
The podcast series centred on the survivors of sexual abuse by the accused. A number of alleged victims emerged after an appeal was issued for people with any information to come forward.
He was arrested in Florida last week, where he has been living for nearly three decades, on foot of an international warrant which was issued by Irish authorities. It is understood that Irish and US law enforcement had prepared for the arrest for over a week.
Gibney appeared before Orlando District Court Judge Daniel Irick for 11 minutes last week. He was remanded in the custody of US Marshals to appear before the same judge tomorrow for a detention hearing.
Court documents filed ahead of the hearing yesterday, which have been seen by
The Journal
, state that Gibney withdrew his application to contest the extradition and agreed to being extradited to Ireland after being advised of his rights earlier this week.
With reporting by Andrew Walsh
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