George Gibney was arrested in the US, where he's been living since 1995, on Tuesday, July 1.RollingNews.ie
George Gibney, the former Irish swimming coach who was arrested in Florida on Tuesday, July 1, is facing 78 charges of indecent assault and one charge of attempted rape in Ireland, according to court documents.
The Irish Government is seeking Gibney's extradition from the US, where he has lived since 1995, back to Ireland to face the charges.
On June 24, the US filed a complaint in the Orlando Division of the US District Court's Middle District of Florida, seeking a warrant for Gibney’s arrest.
The warrant was executed on July 1, and Gibney, who is considered a flight risk and danger to the community, is now in custody of the US Marshals Service.
A detention hearing has been scheduled for next Friday, July 11.
Gibney "faces the real prospect of spending the remainder of his life in jail," one court document, arguing against bail, says.
The criminal complaint signed by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda S. Daniels on June 24 states that in June 2023, the Dublin Metropolitan District Court issued 79 warrants for Gibney's arrest, one for each of the charged offenses.
The complaint says that the former swimming coach for Ireland’s National and Olympic Teams is charged with sexually abusing four girls, and attempting to rape one of the girls, between 1971 and 1981.
The four victims, anonymized as LHU, AAK, EH, and OP, were all swimmers whom Gibney coached in Dublin at the time of the alleged sexual abuse. Two of the victims, LHU and AAK, are sisters.
The victims were between the ages of eight and 15 when Gibney purportedly abused them.
The complaint notes that the four victims made their complaints about Gibney to An Garda Síochána between 2020 and 2022, after the BBC podcast "Where is George Gibney?" aired in 2020.
LHU has accused Gibney of four indecent assault offenses from when she was aged between 11 and 13.
Court documents state in part that LHU's “memory is George Gibneys [sic] hands under [her] swimsuit, fondling breasts, vaginal area and [she’s] sure he didn’t penetrate but he was fondling.”
AAK, LHU's sister, has accused Gibney of 34 indecent assault offenses from when she was aged between 12 and 15.
According to the court documents, AAK stated in part that she recalled Gibney "repeatedly inserting his fingers into her vagina, forced her to perform oral sex on him, and occasionally performed oral sex on her."
EH has accused Gibney of one indecent assault offense when she was 13 or 14.
Court documents say in part that she recalls Gibney putting "his hand under her coat to her groin, placing his hand on [her] vagina over her clothing."
OP has accused Gibney of 40 indecent assault offenses and one attempted rape offense from when she was between 8 and 12 years old.
Court documents allege that Gibney's "abuse of OP began as kissing and hugging and progressed to sexual contact, forced oral sex, and culminated in an attempted rape."
All of the alleged incidents happened at various locations in Dublin.
Previous complaints against George Gibney
The complaint notes that other complaints of sexual abuse were made against Gibney in Ireland in or around 1992.
"Some of these previous complaints were the subject of an order of prohibition by way of judicial review proceeding before the Irish Courts on the basis of delay," the complaint says.
"Since that ruling, the law in Ireland has changed significantly in relation to prohibition. The allegations made by the six complainants in the prior case have not been included in the instant matter."
The four victims in the current case were not part of the prior proceedings.
Court documents say Ireland previously sought Gibney's cooperation with their investigation and consent to a voluntary interview, via an Interpol request. In June 2021, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement met and spoke with Gibney, who ultimately refused to engage with An Garda Síochána and declined to consent to a voluntary interview.
Maximum sentences
The maximum penalty for the offence of indecent assault where the offence took place in the period up to June 6, 1981, is two years' imprisonment for the first offence, and five years' imprisonment for the second or subsequent offence(s).
The maximum penalty for the offence of indecent assault where the offence took place from June 6, 1981, until January 18, 1991, is ten years' imprisonment.
Rape is a felony for which the maximum penalty is life imprisonment which is discretionary as opposed to mandatory.