George Gibney was charged on 27 counts of indecent assault and unlawful carnal knowledge of young swimmers in Ireland in 1993.
An Irish politician is hopeful that President Trump’s immigration crackdown will have one benefit for Ireland: removing a former Irish swim coach from the country and returning him to Ireland to further answer to charges he raped children.
George Gibney was charged on 27 counts of indecent assault and unlawful carnal knowledge of young swimmers in Ireland in 1993 but all charges were dropped in 1994 when it was decided that the swim coach could not adequately defend himself as some of the complaints dated back to the 1970s. By this time, Gibney had already relocated to Florida where he is still believed to live, having being granted a visa to stay and successfully having applied for a US green card.
“The next thing to do is to write to American politicians who have shown an interest and see if something can be done from the American side,” said Independent Dublin West TD Maureen O’Sullivan said.
Read more: Judge demands US authorities explain why they let in alleged Irish pedophile George Gibney
Will 2018 be the year Irish and American law enforcement stop talking in code about George Gibney and start sharing evidence of the former Irish Olympic swim coach’s 1991 rape in Tampa? https://t.co/BKMXryit7d
— Irvin Muchnick (@irvmuch) December 26, 2017
“I wrote two years ago to every woman in congress and the senate but didn’t get much response. Hopefully it will get a better response this time. It’s sad that Ireland can’t do more, but there should be huge questions in America about why someone with 27 charges against them was allowed to stay in the country without citizenship.”
Since 2015, O’Sullivan and US journalist Irvin Muchnick have attempted to discover why Gibney was first awarded a visa and then permanent residency in the US when the authorities were aware of the charges against his name.
O’Sullivan now plans to write to Dianne Feinstein, a US senator, and Jackie Speier, a congresswoman, to find out why Gibney was allowed to remain in the US.
The Dublin TD raised the issue in the Dáil (Irish parliament) on December 14, although the Department of Justice and Gardaí (Irish police) have informed her that the no action can be taken unless further evidence against Gibney come to light.
Read more: Pedophilia victims to sue the Irish State
Ireland's @MOSullivanTD will ask police in Ireland and Florida to share information about George Gibney’s alleged rape of a 17-year-old swimmer in a Tampa hotel room in 1991. https://t.co/SrHQkTPWnp
— Irvin Muchnick (@irvmuch) December 27, 2017
O’Sullivan has acted as a go-between since 2015 for an alleged victim of Gibney’s who claims she was raped by the swim coach at a training camp in Florida in 1991.
The alleged victim also claims that the Irish official brought her to London for an abortion following the rape, giving her pills to make her groggy.
Although a review of the case was ordered, it is believed that the alleged victim’s mental state will not allow her to provide further details. Gibney’s offenses could date back as far as the 1960s.
Read more: Irish priest who exposed pedophile to sue Florida diocese for defamation
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