Shawn Sullivan, an American who holds dual citizenship in the US and Ireland, has been spared extradition back to the United States where he would face trial for his crimes of pedophilia. Sullivan has several convictions of sexual assault against children that have landed him on InterPol’s most wanted list, with the two most recent being in Ireland.
The Telegraph reports that the 43 year old will not be forced to return to the United States to face trial for his crimes on the grounds that the likely sentence would be a denial of his human rights. Should he return to face trial in the US, Sullivan would probably spend the rest of his life in custody as part of a “controversial” sex-offenders treatment program in Minnesota.
A spokesman for the US Embassy said: “We strongly disagree with the decision of the court that he should not be extradited to face trial in the U.S.”
“Civil commitment is not a penal or criminal sanction; it is rather a means by which the State can protect the community from dangerous behaviour that the committed individual is unable to control.”
Civil commitment in the US means that the accused can be jailed indefinitely for as long as they’re considered a threat to society.
Sullivan, originally from Fort Benning, Georgia, was accused of raping a 14 year-old girl and sexually molesting two 11 year-olds in Minnesota between 1993 and 1994.
When charges were filed against him for his crimes in the US, he fled to Ireland, where he holds dual citizenship. There, he assaulted two more young Irish girls, leading to his suspended sentence in 1997. He then fled to London using his Irish passport that had his name spelled in Gaelic.
Sullivan was located and arrested in Barnes, southwest London in June of 2010. He was living with Sarah Smith, a Ministry of Justice policy manager. Sullivan went on to marry Smith while on remand from Wandsworth Prison, and was later released on bail with an electronic tag.
The Telegraph goes on to report that a UK judge initially agreed to Sullivan’s extradition back to the US and the Home Office dismissed his appeal.
However, Sullivan took his case to the High Court earlier this year, with his lawyers claiming that if he were convicted in the US, he faced being put under a “civil commitment” order at the end of his jail term that effectively meant he would be deemed “sexually dangerous” and never released.
The Associated Press reports that on Thursday, two judges accepted Sullivan's appeal against extradition after U.S. authorities refused to give assurances that Sullivan would not be placed in the controversial sex-offenders treatment program in Minnesota.
The judges believed that placing Sullivan in the Minnesota treatment program, which has yet to release a person from its services since its inception, would be in denial of his human rights.
In a judgment published last week, the UK High Court judges said there was a real risk he would be put on the program in Minnesota, and that it would breach his right not to suffer loss of liberty without due process as protected by the European Court of Human Rights.
"It is clear to me that were an order of civil commitment to be made, it would be a flagrant denial of this appellant's rights under Art. 5.1," Lord Justice Moses said.
In a note released on Thursday, Lord Justice Moses announced that “the United States will not provide an assurance” and so the appeal under the 2003 Extradition Act was allowed.
“The appellant will be discharged from the proceedings,” the judge said.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Bythebay | Jul 02, 2012, 11:54 AM EDT
connemaragirl, the United Kingdom, not Ireland, refused to return him to the US where he's wanted. He's not wanted in Ireland. Ireland doesn't work for the US. If he was a fugitive in the US, the US dropped the ball letting him leave. None of it has anything to do with Ireland whatsoever.
Bythebay | Jul 02, 2012, 11:52 AM EDT
pat1505, if he was a fugitive in the US they shouldn't have let him leave. It's the US fault.
Bythebay | Jul 02, 2012, 11:49 AM EDT
alissann, YOU DON'T KNOW THE DETAIL ABOUT THE CASE AND CAN'T MAKE A JUDGEMENT ABOUT IT. You weren't in court and haven't seen the court records. You can go to England to do that.
Bythebay | Jul 02, 2012, 11:47 AM EDT
eiriamach, check the court records.
eiriamach | Jul 02, 2012, 07:55 AM EDT
WHY did an Irish court suspend his sentence for two assaults on girls in 1997? Who answers for the dangerous action of releasing a repeat sex offender? Will this pedophile ever do time in prison for any of his assaults on children, or do the British and Irish governments think that the way to oppose a harsh American law is to give sexual predators full freedom to rape again in their countries? Are children pawns in a political game?
alisaann | Jul 02, 2012, 01:41 AM EDT
what about the RIGHTS of HIS VICTIMS?????????....this guy DESERVES "LIFE" for what he did.....the court made the WRONG decision. alisa
timbobdennehy | Jun 30, 2012, 09:50 PM EDT
i thought customs check out who you are before letting you travel to a country,how did he manage to leave america in a plane,since he was wanted,was he not redlisted.
timbobdennehy | Jun 30, 2012, 09:46 PM EDT
i thought customs checked out on who you are,well they do on entering the usa,i would of imagined it would of been the same if you landed in shannon,and as far as his human rights are concerned with life behind bars,how about if we chopped his balls off,i think those irish girls are due their pound of flesh,like in the merchant of venice.
pat1505 | Jun 30, 2012, 04:32 PM EDT
Well said connemaragirl
connemaragirl | Jun 30, 2012, 02:53 PM EDT
I'm confused ,who gave this guy his walking papers Ireland or the UK??, are they all gone mad ?,How ugly or desperate is this Minister for Justice that she couldn't get a man with no criminal background ?,He was wanted by the US before he commited any crime in Ireland send the SOB back yesterday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!let him face the music .HUMAN RIGHTS MY ARSE.
pat1505 | Jun 30, 2012, 01:44 AM EDT
Nedwardatlarge: I did read the article and here is the quote that set me off "When charges were filed against him for his crimes in the US, he fled to Ireland, where he holds dual citizenship. There, he assaulted two more young Irish girls, leading to his suspended sentence in 1997." Wow Ireland let him go after he assaulted two young girls, did the Irish even check as to why he was in Ireland in the first place? He was a fugitive from justice in the US. Irish officials could have held him until they contacted US officials. Nedwardatlarge try a course in reading for secondary content it might open your eyes to a whole new world. Donegal6 if Ireland gives a suspended sentence for assaulting two young girls perhaps it is Ireland that is a haven for pedophiles.
Donegal6 | Jun 29, 2012, 11:36 PM EDT
I can imagine some parents taking this miscreant out if they find him. Sound like pedophile heaven in England, are all the priests over there? LOL
irishcan73 | Jun 29, 2012, 08:35 PM EDT
human rights that's a good one, what about the human rights he had no respect for, send him back to where he will be punished on a daily basis shame on uk courts
Bythebay | Jun 29, 2012, 02:10 PM EDT
Maggie47, this occurred in the UNITED KINGDOM not Ireland. Ireland has no jurisdiction over the United Kingdom. It's not Ireland's place to interfere with a decision in the United Kingdom. The US wants him, it's the US's responsibility. This has no connection to Ireland.
Maggie47 | Jun 29, 2012, 12:39 PM EDT
Nedwardatlarge, sorry I did reread the article, my mistake. He has irish citizenship,Ireland should step in and have his butt sent back to the states.
irishamerica46 | Jun 29, 2012, 12:28 PM EDT
Rights! He shouldn't have any rights! Now he's free to destroy other children. Pedophiles don't stop their behavior.People of the UK should be up in arms and out there protesting this decision.Lock him up and throw away the key!
biggles008 | Jun 29, 2012, 12:14 PM EDT
He needs to sit down for a while, (In an Electric Chair)
irelandmusic | Jun 29, 2012, 12:08 PM EDT
so here we are again failing to protect our children it makes me sick.
bob40wil | Jun 29, 2012, 12:00 PM EDT
To bad, He'd have been treated like he and his like should be while in Minnesota, he's a repeat offender and should be put away for life. Shame on the UK.
paolipete | Jun 29, 2012, 11:25 AM EDT
I.C. you should make very [clearer ] that this is a decision of the UK judicial system and does not concern Ireland in any way.
nedwardatlarge | Jun 29, 2012, 10:56 AM EDT
In a judgment published last week, the UK High Court judges!!! The UK is NOT Ireland.Pat505 and Maggie47 reread the article
pat1505 | Jun 29, 2012, 10:36 AM EDT
Ireland this is disappointing, to shield a pedophile from rightful incarceration is incomprehensible. I'll pray for your children.
Maggie47 | Jun 29, 2012, 10:27 AM EDT
Ireland you are disappointing. Have you thought of the damage he has done to the girls he molested? Who is going to be his next victim?
Maggie47 | Jun 29, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT
this SLUG is free to rape again, what about the girls he molested they don't have rights. Ireland you are disappointing, have you learned anything from the abuse by the priests?
Portia777 | Jun 29, 2012, 10:14 AM EDT
"He was living with Sarah Smith, a Ministry of Justice policy manager."They sure look after their own.