The extradition of former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney to Ireland has been ordered by a US judge after he appeared before a court in Florida.
Mr Gibney appeared in federal court in Orlando, in the Middle District of Florida, before US Magistrate Judge Daniel Irick on Friday morning.
Mr Gibney was wheeled into court in a wheelchair, wearing a blue jumpsuit with apparent bandages around his feet.
“I can see he’s in a wheelchair and he’s a bit soft-spoken,” said Judge Irick, who requested that Mr Gibney be positioned closer to the microphone and speak louder while consenting to his extradition.
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The 77-year-old formerly renowned swim coach was arrested on July 1st, on 79 charges of sex crimes against minors. He will face 78 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape in violation of Irish common law.
Mr Gibney is accused of committing sexual offences against four girls in the 1970s and 1980s. The girls, whose identities are being kept anonymous by the court, were between the ages of eight and 15 when they alleged abuse took place.
Mr Gibney was sworn into oath and confirmed that he understood that he was agreeing to be extradited to Ireland to face his charges there.
The judge asked, “Do you admit you are the individual whom charges are pending against?”, to which Mr Gibney responded, “Yes.”
Mr Gibney asked his attorney, US Assistant Public Defender Aisha Nash, to repeat each question which he was asked by the judge.
Ms Nash told the judge that Mr Gibney was “in desperate need of glasses”, but that his affidavit was read aloud verbatim to him and he understood that he was waiving his right to a hearing and consenting to extradition.
Mr Gibney also told the judge he was on medication for high blood pressure, but that he was taking his medication as directed and was of sound mind to consent to waiving his hearing and consenting to extradition.
Mr Gibney will remain in the custody of the US Marshal’s Office until he is taken into custody of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau in a minimum of five days.
The extradition of Mr Gibney, who has been in custody in Florida since July 1st, to the State will now proceed and he is likely to appear before a Dublin court in the near future.
It is expected that Mr Gibney’s extradition may take some time to arrange, according to one source, with various administrative matters, possibly including travel documents, needing to be organised.
It might happen next week, but most likely before the end of the month, the source said.
The alleged young victims say they were abused by Mr Gibney, their swimming coach in south Dublin, at different times between 1971 and 1981.
In 1993, Mr Gibney appeared before the courts in Dublin charged with 27 sexual crimes. However, he took a High Court challenge to his prosecution and was successful. The court effectively ruled in 1994 that the allegations were too old, and many details were too vague, to warrant a prosecution.
Legal norms and legislation have since changed in Ireland, meaning the prosecution of historical sexual crimes now regularly occurs. Suspects in historical cases no longer have the grounds they once did to avoid prosecution.
Mr Gibney left Ireland in the 1990s, settling in the US, and has remained there for the past 30 years, residing in Florida in recent years.
However, between 2020 and 2022 the BBC-Second Captains podcast, entitled Where is George Gibney?, prompted the four women now accusing him to give statements to the Garda.
A fresh criminal investigation began, with the Director of Public Prosecutions directing in May 2023 that Mr Gibney should face 79 charges, with arrest warrants issued by the courts in Dublin.
Last October, the Irish embassy in Washington formally made a request to the US authorities to arrest Mr Gibney for the purpose of extraditing him to the Republic to stand trial.
