Swimming coach George Gibney file sent to DPP after Garda investigation into fresh allegations

A file has been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) following a Garda investigation into fresh allegations of historical child sex abuse by former Olympic swimming coach George Gibney.

Gardaí have been investigating a number of allegations, dating back several decades, about Gibney abusing children in his care as a swimming coach.

Gibney, who was last known to be living in Orlando, Florida, previously faced charges in 1993. He appeared before Dún Laoghaire District Court in April of that year charged with 27 counts of indecency against young swimmers and of having carnal knowledge of girls under the age of 15.

However, his prosecution was halted after he successfully took a judicial review in which his lawyers argued there was a delay in the offences coming to court and a lack of precision in defining specific alleged incidents. He fled Ireland afterwards, spending time in Scotland and the US.

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Now aged in his 70s, Gibney was a well-known coach at Trojan swimming club in Dublin during the 1980s and 1990s before revelations emerged about him allegedly using his position to sexually abuse children.

It is understood that the DPP is reviewing a file of evidence prepared by gardaí following a new investigation into allegations against Gibney in recent years. These allegations were not related to the previous charges brought against him.

A 2020 podcast documentary by BBC Sounds and Second Captains, entitled Where Is George Gibney?, re-examined the controversy and prompted more than a dozen new alleged victims of the swimming coach to come forward.

The makers of the podcast tracked the former coach to a suburb in Orlando and confronted him. However, he refused to respond to questions about the allegations that he sexually assaulted children in Ireland.

A number of the alleged abuse victims who came forward following the documentary made criminal complaints to An Garda Síochána, which was already investigating further historical allegations against Gibney.

Two Garda sources confirmed to The Irish Times that a file on the investigation has now been sent to the DPP, which is considering the case. If prosecutors believe there is sufficient evidence to charge Gibney, authorities would have to seek to have him extradited from the US.

In response to queries about whether the force had referred the findings of the new investigation into Gibney to the DPP, a Garda spokesman said it could not comment “on communications or correspondence with third parties”.