A New Hampshire man was convicted yesterday of sexually assaulting two Irish students who had been working in the United States for the summer last year.
A jury in Rockingham County Superior Court deliberated for most of yesterday before finding Steven Gordon guilty of sexually assaulting the two women at gunpoint in a deserted graveyard.
Gordon was found guilty of five counts of felonious sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping. He still faces other related abduction charges in nearby Portsmouth County.
He is also wanted for questioning in the rape of a real estate agent earlier in the year and a string of local robberies. Sentencing will is likely to take place next month.
During the trial one of the victims, a 24-year-old college graduate from south-east Ireland, recalled how Gordon had forced her to perform sexual acts at gunpoint before raping her and her 21-year-old friend.
Prosecutors said Gordon had forced the two women into his rented car at gunpoint after abducting them from a beach in the early morning hours. Police said after the assault Gordon fled to Belgium, where he surrendered to the authorities at the American embassy. He was eventually extradited to the US in February.