A former top Northern Ireland civil servant has been indicted on child sex charges by a grand jury in the United States, it emerged today.
Mr Stan Mallon is charged with attempting to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity and of travelling between states to engage in sexual acts with a
minor. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Assistant US Attorney Mr Markus Funk said Mr Mallon could be taken before a court within days.
Mr Mallon was arrested by Chicago police officers after an undercover operation lasting several months.
The 62-year-old former acting chief executive of the Ulster Scots Agency - a body jointly run by the Stormont Executive and the Irish Government - was arrested on March 8th after allegedly arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl in his Chicago hotel room to have sex.
It is alleged he used an Internet chatline site called "Dad and Daughter Sex" to contact a girl called "Marny" - a cover name for a US federal agent.
He had travelled to the United States on behalf of the Ulster Scots Agency, which is aimed at promoting Ulster Scots language and culture, to attend St Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington.
Police say that when he arrived in Chicago on his way to Washington, he phoned "Marny" to arrange for her to meet him outside his hotel, the Amerisuites Hotel, near Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
But instead of meeting a 14-year-girl he was confronted by officers from Cook County's Child Exploitation Unit.
PA
