Irish man facing sexual offences charges against minors appears in US court

An Irish man who is facing almost 400 charges of sexual offenses against minors in the midlands area has appeared at a federal court in upstate New York on Friday.

Judge Daniel J Stewart adjourned his extradition hearing for a week, with the man due to appear again on February 1st.

The man, who is wanted in connection with a series of offences in the midlands, was arrested last week at an apartment in Guilderland, a small town outside Albany in New York state.

He had been living there since April, though had fled Ireland in 2013.

Judge Stewart remanded him back into the custody of the United States Marshals Service, a federal law enforcement agency within the US department of justice.

County jail

The accused has been detained in a county jail in upstate New York since his arrest last week and was accompanied by two US marshals in court.

The man is wanted for questioning over the alleged sexual assault and rape of two minors, mostly at a GAA ground in the midlands between 2004 and 2009.

He faces 387 accounts of sexual assault, including 177 counts of rape.

Court documents filed in New York state that the accused is charged with 210 counts of sexual assault, 177 counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, three counts of assault causing harm, one count of false imprisonment, one count of damage to property, and one count of harassment”.

‘Local GAA scene’

According to the documents outlining the basis for the extradition request, the man was well-known in the local community in Ireland and had a “significant involvement in the local GAA scene”.

The documents state the Irish Government submitted a formal request through diplomatic channels for the extradition of the individual.

A warrant was issued for his arrest in September 2017. Gardaí then asked Homeland Security for assistance in locating the individual a year later.

According to the filing, the accused’s house in Ireland was raided in November 2013 by authorities during which incriminatory evidence was recovered, it is alleged.

Multiple times

One of the victims was abused multiple times a week between 2004 and 2006 with the abuse beginning when the victim was 13 years old.

The charges relating to the other victim occurred on a quarterly basis between 2005 and 2009, it is claimed.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of the case and is providing appropriate consular assistance.”

Ireland and the United States have an extradition agreement which dates back to 1983.