Ex-swim coach George Gibney arrested in US on foot of extradition request over historical child abuse allegations
The one-time swimming trainer was lifted in the
Gibney who is now in his 70s, is wanted here to face over 50 historical sexual abuse charges from his time working here.
He was arrested in Florida on Tuesday afternoon by US marshals on foot of an Irish extradition warrant, according to
Gibney is being detained pending a court appearance there and can decide whether to accede or contest his extradition.
A Garda spokesperson told The Irish Sun: '
Read more in News
'As this is currently a matter for the US authorities, An Garda Síochána will not be commenting further at this time.'
Investigators re-opened their probe into the former high profile coach after a number of people made allegations against him on a
The award-winning production, entitled Where Is George Gibney?, re-examined the controversy and prompted more than a dozen new alleged victims of the swimming coach to come forward.
A number of the alleged abuse victims who came forward following the hit series made criminal complaints to An Garda Siochana, who at the time had already opened a fresh investigation into Gibney.
Most read in Irish News
The new case reportedly relates to different instances of alleged abuse to those Gibney was previously charged with in the 1990s.
It is understood gardai submitted the extradition request to US authorities late last year, at which point it became a matter for US officials to review and process the paperwork.
Gibney previously faced charges in 1993.
He appeared before Dun Laoghaire District
However, his prosecution was stopped after he took a judicial review in the High Court and, in July 1994, secured an injunction preventing the DPP from prosecuting him on those charges.
1
Former Olympics coach George Gibney has been arrested in the US
Credit: RTE
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
39 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Serving Irish soldier ‘ashamed' after man suffered brain injury from ‘one-punch' row over skipping fast-food queue
A SERVING Irish soldier has been bailed for sentencing after he admitted delivering 'one punch' to a man who fell to the ground, striking his head and leaving him with a traumatic brain injury. Father-of-three, Alan Costello, of Shantraud Woods, Killaloe in Co 2 Alan Costello appeared in court in Limerick Credit: Alamy 2 He pleaded guilty to one count of affray Credit: Brendan Gleeson Costello, 37, who has served almost 20 years in the Father-of-one Cosgrave, from Annacotty in The court heard that the two men got into a 'heated' row at the Chicken Hut fast-food restaurant in Limerick city, after Cosgrave appeared to have skipped past Costello in a queue for food in the early hours of February 20, 2022. Cosgrave, who was intoxicated, beckoned Costello to meet him outside the premises. READ MORE IN NEWS After both men went outside, Costello punched Cosgrave and he fell backwards, striking the back of his head off the ground, the court heard. Cosgrave's family told the Cosgrave's family said he was 'devastated' after doctors told him in 2023 he could no longer drive, nor perform mechanical checks on his fleet of trucks 'after he developed epilepsy, and lost strength in his arms'. Costello's barrister, Yvonne Quinn, told the court Costello had no previous convictions, that he did not target Cosgrave on the night, nor did he instigate the row with Cosgrave. Most read in The Irish Sun Judge Colin Daly said he would pass sentence on October 9.
Irish Independent
43 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
How disgraced former Irish swim coach George Gibney has run from child abuse allegations for over 30 years
Gibney (77) was arrested this week in the US as officials attempt to extradite him to Ireland For 30 years disgraced former Irish swim coach George Gibney (77) has avoided child abuse allegations, relocating around the United States and refusing to answer questions about his dark past. When a new garda investigation was launched into him in 2020, Gibney again declined to cooperate, telling a US special agent at his Florida home that he would not assist gardaí or be voluntarily interviewed.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Online and mobile games can manipulate children as young as three into purchases, warns report
Children as young as three are manipulated into making online purchases in many mobile and online games, according to Ireland's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). The CCPC was one of 20 consumer agencies taking part in an international sweep of 439 mobile and online games to identify potential consumer harms. The sweep, coordinated by the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN), found several design techniques that may aim to manipulate players as young as three into making decisions or purchases they wouldn't otherwise make. The CCPC said it will now assess the report 'for potential breaches of EU and Irish consumer protection law" by the games. The research found that 24% of the games investigated used urgency style design techniques pressuring players to make a purchase of something scarce, and 38% used the same tactics to encourage players to purchase items only available for a limited time. Other forms of manipulative design techniques included 'nagging' design techniques. Around 60% of the games sent notifications to players to log back into the game to claim some form of reward, and 32% of games pressured players to purchase an item such as a life, energy or a booster, after losing. Of the games swept, 78% had some form of virtual currency built into the game. Virtual currencies are digital forms of in-game money players can use to purchase items within the in-game economy such as loot boxes, lives, or weapons. Loot boxes are in-game rewards bought with real or virtual currency, or earned by watching in-game ads or spending time in the game. 'The presence of these items/practices was as common in games that were classified as appropriate starting at the age of three, as they were in those for ages 12 and up. As such, it seems that the age rating alone may not be an adequate way to protect minors from these practices or inform their parents about their presence in the game,' the report stated. "In addition, parental controls and other practices aimed at protecting minors were only found in a small subsection of the games included in the sweep. Of the games that did include parental controls they were observed to be easy to setup and reinforce in 44% of the cases." Only 30% of games with loot boxes disclosed the presence of this monetisation mechanism at the download stage. The research in the sweep of games took place between March 31 and April 11. "The sweep uncovered the presence of several practices that could potentially harm consumers," the report concluded. "Given the prevalence of these practices in video games and the worldwide reach of this entertainment industry, the participating members of the sweep recommend more action from the industry, regulatory bodies and legislators."
