A UK child sex offender who was arrested in Cavan two weeks ago after going missing from his UK address has been jailed for four months. William Paden (56), who had a registered address in Blackpool in England, had left there after “locals discovered where he was and things got a bit hot”, his solicitor Gareth Fortune told Cavan District Court yesterday.
He went to visit relatives in Northern Ireland and then came to the Republic. The UK police and gardaí issued press releases about him and on June 30th he was arrested in Ballyhaise, Co Cavan.
Yesterday he pleaded guilty to breaching the Sex Offenders’ Act, 2001, by failing to notify gardaí of his name, address and date of birth contrary to Section 12 of the Act. His 19 offences date back to 1974 and include rape and indecent assault on a child. He is banned from associating with children unless accompanied by an adult aged 21 or older.
Judge David Anderson was told by Garda Insp Seamus Boyle that Paden was wanted “in a foreign jurisdiction” in relation to a national offender management offence and the UK authorities had prepared extradition papers.
Mr Fortune said: “He will be extradited on finality of his sentence [in the Republic], to be dealt with by the English authorities.”
Judge Anderson imposed a four-month prison term and backdated it to June 30th.