George Gibney expected to return to Ireland to face criminal charges
The 77-year-old was arrested on foot of an Irish extradition warrant in Florida earlier this month.
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Mr Gibney has been charged with 78 counts of indecent assault and one charge of attempted rape against four minor females aged between eight and 15 years at the time of the alleged offences.
It is understood that Mr Gibney will be flown back to Ireland tonight and is expected to arrive in Ireland on Tuesday. He is being accompanied by gardaí on the flight.
He will be brought before Dublin District Court once he arrives back in the state.
It comes almost two weeks after a US judge ordered the extradition of Mr Gibney.
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US magistrate Judge Daniel Irick made the order at a hearing in Florida earlier this month.
The decision came after Mr Gibney had agreed to be extradited from the US to stand trial over multiple sex offence charges.
In court documents, it stated that Mr Gibney is sought by the Irish Government, which has filed charges against him and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Mr Gibney, who had sex offence charges against him dismissed in the 1990s, has lived in the US for years.
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In 2020, the podcast Where Is George Gibney, produced by Second Captains and the BBC, highlighted allegations of abuse against Mr Gibney and prompted new complainants to come forward.
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Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Pub chef who sexually assaulted and murdered artist as she walked dog gets six more years in jail
A pub chef who murdered an artist while she walked her dog will spend nearly six more years in prison after Court of Appeal judges increased his sentence. Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25-and-a-half years in February for killing Claire Knights, 54, in Kent almost two years ago. He ambushed her as she walked back from a beach near Minnis Bay, sexually assaulted and then murdered her before dumping her body. The 'highly sexualised' killer was seen on CCTV going to the gym and buying snacks just hours before the brutal murder. The 21-year-old then 'feigned' symptoms of psychosis following his arrest, the Court of Appeal was told on Friday. His sentence was referred by the Solicitor General for being unduly lenient, with Lord Justice Edis, Mr Justice Calver and Judge Angela Morris increasing Van-Pooss' minimum term to one of 31 years. Jonathan Polnay KC, for the SG, said the judge at Canterbury Crown Court did not give enough weight to how Ms Knights had been targeted as a lone woman, the extreme nature of the violence and that her body had been hidden for two days before it was discovered. He also said the judge gave too much credit for Van-Pooss's guilty plea and his sentence therefore 'required an uplift of substance'. Quoting Canterbury Crown Court judge Mr Justice Garnham, he said: 'This was a merciless beating causing catastrophic brain injuries and multiple facial fractures. There would have been a very significant period of mental and physical suffering. 'She must have been terrified as she considered the likelihood that you were going to kill her.' Mr Polnay added: 'That is an aggravating factor of some weight. That's not part and parcel of a murder.' He also referenced mitigating factors considered by the original judge. One of those was Van-Pooss' guilty plea, which he submitted in December 2024, over a year after Ms Knights' death in August 2023. This followed several reports to determine the 21-year-old's mental status due to his presenting psychotic symptoms. It was deemed he did not have psychosis, and it was suggested he had faked such symptoms. Mr Polnay said: 'It took some considerable time for the plea to be entered. Reports were necessary for this case. 'I entirely accept the offender does have a mental disorder, but he inevitably made the process longer and more complicated. 'He is someone who has malingered and continued to present false symptoms.' Stephen Moses KC, for Van-Pooss, said the targeting was 'a matter of moments rather than pre-meditated'. He added: 'Any findings of fact that there was malingering are explained by the personality disorder, but are not, in our case, perverting the course of justice. 'Matters were consistent with a personality disorder rather than simply framing mental illness.' He also put forward that a previous defence taken by Van Pooss - that Ms Knights made sexual advances towards him - was never advanced, so should not alter the level of credit given. Ultimately, the Court of Appeal judges decided a mistake had been made in the original sentencing. Van-Pooss also pleaded guilty to upskirting another woman at the pub where he worked the day before he killed Ms Knights. After she reported this, Van-Pooss was dismissed on August 22, 2023, and he left, carrying a backpack with a chef's knife inside. He then built a 'den' by the railway lines near Minnis Bay, Lord Justice Edis said in his judgment. Ms Knights was believed to have been walking a white and brown spaniel called Zebulon when she ran into Van-Pooss the following day. Van-Pooss acted in a 'simple' and 'calculated' way, the judge added, as he beat her and stomped on her head, causing fractures and brain damage. Ms Knights was found concealed in a dyke, having been pushed into the water while she was still alive. Van-Pooss was arrested for the upskirting offence on the evening of the killing, and was later charged with murder. Lord Justice Edis said the killing of a lone woman created 'widespread concern in the local community' and that Van-Pooss received an unduly lenient sentence. He added: 'The first thing we wish to say is that we commend the experienced judge for his approach to this case. 'The judge, in dealing with a horrifying and dreadful case of this kind, has to firmly try and succeed in maintaining an objective approach. 'The judge's job is to apply the law it the facts of the case and to be fair to the person who is to be sentenced. That is not easy in any case like this. 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'There's a sense of relief now, because every time you come (to court), it just throws you straight back to the horror of it. 'This means now we can get on and we can remember Claire as she should be remembered, and that's what's important.' Mr Knights-Sloane continued: 'We want her death to mean something, and we want something positive to come out of her death. 'If we can do anything towards stopping violence against women, that would be a positive thing.' At Canterbury Crown Court, Ms Knights' friends and family heard harrowing details of how she was ambushed as she strolled with her Springer spaniel in Minnis Bay, Birchington, on August 23, 2023. Van-Pooss subjected her to a vicious sexual assault and beating before dumping her unconscious, but still alive, in a nearby water-filled dyke. Solicitor General Lucy Rigby said: 'Lawrence Van-Pooss's attack on Claire Knights was horrific. He assaulted and brutally murdered her, in a totally random attack. 'I welcome the court's decision to increase Van-Pooss's sentence and I would like to express my deepest sympathies to Claire's family and loved ones.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You've got no rights.' He secretly recorded his brutal arrest
On the morning of 2 May, Florida teenager Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job in North Palm Beach with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. A highway patrol officer asked everyone in the van to identify themselves, then called for backup. Officers with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrived on the scene. Video footage of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men*, two of whom are undocumented. They appear to use a stun gun on one man, put another in a chokehold and can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: 'You've got no rights here. You're a migo, brother.' Afterward, agents can be heard bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use 'funny' and quipping: 'You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.' The footage has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day. 'The federal government has imposed quotas for the arrest of immigrants,' said Jack Scarola, an attorney who is advocating on behalf of Laynez-Ambrosio and working with the non-profit Guatemalan-Maya Center, which provided the footage to the Guardian. 'Any time law enforcement is compelled to work towards a quota, it poses a significant risk to other rights.' The incident unfolded at roughly 9am, when a highway patrol officer pulled over the company work van, driven by Laynez-Ambrosio's mother, and discovered that she had a suspended license. Laynez-Ambrosio said he is unsure why the van was pulled over, as his mother was driving below the speed limit. Laynez-Ambrosio hadn't intended to film the interaction – he already had his phone out to show his mom 'a silly TikTok', he said – but immediately clicked record when it became clear what was happening. The video begins after the van has been pulled over and the border patrol had arrived. A female officer can be heard asking, in Spanish, whether anyone is in the country illegally. One of Laynez-Ambrosio's friends answers that he is undocumented. 'That's when they said, 'OK, let's go,'' Laynez-Ambrosio recalled. Laynez-Ambrosio said things turned aggressive before the group even had a chance to exit the van. One of the officers 'put his hand inside the window', he said, 'popped the door open, grabbed my friend by the neck and had him in a chokehold'. Footage appears to show officers then reaching for Laynez-Ambrosio and his other friend as Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard protesting: 'You can't grab me like that.' Multiple officers can be seen pulling the other man from the van and telling him to 'put your fucking head down'. The footage captures the sound of a stun gun as Laynez-Ambrosio's friend cries out in pain and drops to the ground. Laynez-Ambrosio said that his friend was not resisting, and that he didn't speak English and didn't understand the officer's commands. 'My friend didn't do anything before they grabbed him,' he said. In the video, Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard repeatedly telling his friend, in Spanish, to not resist. 'I wasn't really worried about myself because I knew I was going to get out of the situation,' he said. 'But I was worried about him. I could speak up for him but not fight back, because I would've made the situation worse.' Laynez-Ambrosio can also be heard telling officers: 'I was born and raised right here.' Still, he was pushed to the ground and says that an officer aimed a stun gun at him. He was subsequently arrested and held in a cell at a CBP station for six hours. Audio in the video catches the unidentified officers debriefing and appearing to make light of the stun gun use. 'You're funny, bro,' one officer can be overheard saying to another, followed by laughter. Another officer says, 'They're starting to resist more now,' to which an officer replies: 'We're going to end up shooting some of them.' Later in the footage, the officers move on to general celebration – 'Goddamn! Woo! Nice!' – and talk of the potential bonus they'll be getting: 'Just remember, you can smell that [inaudible] $30,000 bonus.' It is unclear what bonus they're referring to. Donald Trump's recent spending bill includes billions of additional dollars for Ice that could be spent on recruitment and retention tactics such as bonuses. Laynez-Ambrosio said his two friends were eventually transferred to the Krome detention center in Miami. He believes they were released on bail and are awaiting a court hearing, but said it has been difficult to stay in touch with them. Laynez-Ambrosio's notice to appear in court confirms that the border patrol arrived on the scene, having been called in by the highway patrol. His other legal representative, Victoria Mesa-Estrada, also confirmed that border patrol officers transported the three men to the border patrol facility. The Florida highway patrol, CBP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment before publication. Laynez-Ambrosio was charged with obstruction without violence and sentenced to 10 hours of community service and a four-hour anger management course. While in detention, he said, police threatened him with charges if he did not delete the video footage from his phone, but he refused. Scarola, his lawyer, said the charges were retaliation for filming the incident. 'Kenny was charged with filming [and was] alleged to have interfered with the activities of law enforcement,' he explained. 'But there was no intended interference – merely the exercise of a right to record what was happening.' In February, Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an agreement between the state and the Department of Homeland Security allowing Florida highway patrol troopers to be trained and approved by Ice to arrest and detain immigrants. While such agreements have been inked across the US, Florida has the largest concentration of these deals. Father Frank O'Loughlin, founder and executive director of the Guatemalan-Maya Center, the advocates for Laynez-Ambrosio, says the incident has further eroded trust between Florida's immigrant community and the police. 'This is a story about the corruption of law enforcement by Maga and the brutality of state and federal troopers – formerly public servants – towards nonviolent people,' he said. Meanwhile, Laynez-Ambrosio is trying to recover from the ordeal, and hopes the footage raises awareness of how immigrants are being treated in the US. 'It didn't need to go down like that. If they knew that my people were undocumented, they could've just kindly taken them out of the car and arrested them,' he said. 'It hurt me bad to see my friends like that. Because they're just good people, trying to earn an honest living.' The Guardian is granting anonymity to Laynez-Ambrosio's mother and the men arrested in the footage to protect their privacy
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Man ‘tries to kill and dump wife at sea' – but she grabs boat and survives
A woman survived allegedly being left to die at sea by her husband by clinging onto the boat back to shore, police have said. According to court documents, Douglas Naeher, 60, was in a bad mood when the couple set off from the Florida coast on the fishing trip, and snapped when the rod line broke. Fearing a confrontation with her husband of three years, she leapt off the boat and clung to a pool noodle – a cylindrical piece of foam – to stay afloat, while hanging on to a rope attached to the craft. Mr Naeher is alleged to have untied the rope and driven off at speed, leaving his wife stranded, 33 miles off the Florida coast. 'The victim then stated the defendant was leaving her there to die,' according to the documents filed at the Manatee County Court in Florida. He then hauled her back on board after another boat sailed into view. 'I'm going to kill you' Then, Mr Naeher allegedly repeatedly punched her in the head as well as stomping on her, before dragging her to the back of the boat by her hair and trying to strangle her, then drown her. 'I'm going to kill you,' Mr Naeher allegedly shouted while throttling her with both hands and submerging her head. With his wife back in the water, he then powered off, unaware that his alleged victim had locked her feet onto a ladder. The woman is said to have clung on, and was able to climb back on board when the boat docked at the family's home in Holmes Beach, Florida, at which point she alerted the police. She was treated in the hospital for an array of injuries, including a swollen right eye, severe bruising, and a concussion. Mr Naeher was arrested on Monday and was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
