‘A jail in Ireland by comparison will be luxurious': George Gibney set to be extradited from US within five weeks
Mr Daly has been tracking Gibney's movements in the US for over 15 years. Originally from Dublin but living in the US for almost 40 years, he is a forensic sociologist and works within the US court system as a guardian ad litem investigating and testifying in child welfare cases.
'The conditions in a pretrial US federal facility are generally regarded as nasty, dirty, insect-infested, noisy, all of that,' Mr Daly said.
'The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch have called federal jails 'dangerous and degrading'. Basically, US federal prison is an absolute dump. And Gibney's a marked man as an alleged child sex offender. A jail in Ireland by comparison will be luxurious,' Mr Daly added.
'He potentially has a target on his back in prison here, given the child sex abuse charges. American jails are not a pretty place for people.'
Gibney appeared before a court in Florida on Friday where he agreed to his extradition. The 77-year-old appeared in federal court in Orlando, in the Middle District of Florida, before US magistrate judge Daniel Irick.
The former swimming coach will face 78 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape in violation of Irish common law.
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 the alleged abuse took place.
It is expected he will attempt to fight the criminal charges upon his return to Ireland.
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Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
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Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe'
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Thomas asked to be identified by a nickname out of fear of facing further consequences with US immigration authorities. Despite immediately agreeing to deportation when he was first arrested, Thomas remained in Ice detention after Donald Trump took office and dramatically ramped up immigration arrests. Amid increased overcrowding in detention, Thomas was forced to spend part of his time in custody in a federal prison for criminal defendants, even though he was being held on an immigration violation. Thomas was sent back to Ireland in March and was told he was banned from entering the US for 10 years. Thomas's ordeal follows a rise in reports of tourists and visitors with valid visas being detained by Ice, including from Australia, Germany, Canada and the UK. In April, Irish woman Cliona Ward, who is a US green card holder, was also detained by Ice for 17 days due to a nearly two-decade-old criminal record. 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A doctor ordered him not to travel for eight to 12 weeks due to the risk of blood clots, which, he said, meant he had to stay slightly past 8 December, when his authorisation expired. A flower rests in front of California National Guardsmen during a protest outside the Federal Building on Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij) He got paperwork from his physician and contacted the Irish and American embassies and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to seek an extension, but it was short notice and he did not hear back, he said. 'I did everything I could with the online tools available to notify the authorities that this was happening,' he said, explaining that by the time his deadline to leave the US had approached, he was nearly healed and planning to soon return. 'I thought they would understand because I had the correct paperwork. It was just a couple of days for medical reasons.' He might have avoided immigration consequences if it weren't for an ill-timed law enforcement encounter. Thomas and his girlfriend, Malone, were visiting her family in Savannah, Georgia, when Thomas suffered a mental health episode, he and Malone recalled. The two had a conflict in their hotel room and someone overheard and called the police, they said. Malone, who requested to use her middle name to protect her boyfriend's identity, said she was hoping officers would get him treatment and did not want to see him face criminal charges. But police took him to jail, accusing him of 'falsely imprisoning' his girlfriend in the hotel room, a charge Malone said she did not support. He was soon released on bond, but instead of walking free, was picked up by US immigration authorities, who transported him 100 miles away to an Ice processing centre in Folkston, Georgia. The facility is operated by the private prison company Geo Group on behalf of Ice, with a capacity to hold more than 1,000 people. Thomas was given a two-page removal order, which said he had remained in the US three days past his authorisation and contained no further allegations. On 17 December, he signed a form agreeing to be removed. But despite signing the form, he remained at Folkston, unable to get answers on why Ice wasn't deporting him or how long he would remain in custody. David Cheng, an attorney who represented Thomas, said he requested that Ice release him with an agreement that he'd return to Ireland as planned, but Ice refused. At one point at Folkston, after a fight broke out, officers placed detainees on lockdown for about five days, cutting them off from contacting their families, he said. Thomas said he and others only got approximately one hour of outdoor time each week. 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Of the nearly 50 people taken from Ice to BoP, around 30 of them were transferred back to Folkston a week later, and the following week, two from that group were once again returned to BoP, he said. In the BoP Atlanta facility, he said, Ice representatives would show up once a week to talk to detainees. Detainees would crowd around Ice officials and beg for case updates or help. Ice officers spoke Spanish and English, but Middle Eastern and North African detainees who spoke neither were stuck in a state of confusion. 'It was pandemonium,' Thomas said. Thomas said he saw a BoP guard tear up 'watching the desperation of the people trying to talk to Ice and find out what was happening', and that this officer tried to assist people as best as she could. Thomas and Malone tried to help asylum seekers and others he met at BoP by connecting them to advocates. Thomas was also unable to speak to his children, because there was no way to make international calls: 'I don't know how I made it through.' In mid-March, Thomas was briefly transferred again to a different Ice facility. The authorities did not explain what had changed, but two armed federal officers then escorted him on a flight back to Ireland. DHS and Ice did not respond to inquiries, and a spokesperson for Geo Group declined to comment. It seems like a completely incomprehensible, punitive detention — Sirine Shebaya Donald Murphy, a BoP spokesperson, confirmed that Thomas had been in the bureau's custody, but did not comment about his case or conditions at the Atlanta facility. BoP is now housing Ice detainees in eight of its prisons and would 'continue to support our law enforcement partners to fulfil the administration's policy objectives', he added. 'This will be a lifelong burden' It's unclear why Thomas was jailed for so long for a minor immigration violation. 'It seems completely outlandish that they would detain someone for three months because he overstayed a visa for a medical reason,' said Sirine Shebaya, executive director of the National Immigration Project, who is not involved in his case and was told a summary by the Guardian. 'It is such a waste of time and money at a time when we're hearing constantly about how the government wants to cut expenses. It seems like a completely incomprehensible, punitive detention.' Ice, she added, was 'creating its own crisis of overcrowding'. Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, senior policy counsel with the National Immigration Law Center, also not involved in the case, said in general, it was not uncommon for someone to remain in immigration custody even after they've accepted a removal order and that she has had European clients shocked to learn they can face serious consequences for briefly overstaying a visa. Ice, however, had discretion to release Thomas with an agreement that he'd return home instead of keeping him indefinitely detained, she said. The Trump administration, she added, has defaulted to keeping people detained without weighing individual factors of their cases: 'Now it's just, do we have a bed?' Republican lawmakers in Georgia last year also passed state legislation requiring police to alert immigration authorities when an undocumented person is arrested, which could have played a role in Thomas being flagged to Ice, said Samantha Hamilton, staff attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, a non-profit group that advocates for immigrants' rights. She met Thomas on a legal visit at the BoP Atlanta facility. Residents gather during a community vigil on Monday, June 30, 2025, to stand in solidarity with an immigrant family after ICE agents detained Rosalina Luna Vargas on Saturday, June 28, in front of her children, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Hamilton said she was particularly concerned about immigrants of colour who are racially profiled and pulled over by police, but Thomas's ordeal was a reminder that so many people are vulnerable: 'The mass detentions are terrifying and it makes me afraid for everyone.' Thomas had previously travelled to the US frequently for work, but now questions if he'll ever be allowed to return: 'This will be a lifelong burden.' Malone, his girlfriend, said she plans to move to Ireland to live with him: 'It's not an option for him to come here and I don't want to be in America anymore.' Since his return, Thomas said he has had a hard time sleeping and processing what happened: 'I'll never forget it, and it'll be a long time before I'll be able to even start to unpack everything I went through. It still doesn't feel real. When I think about it, it's like a movie I'm watching.' He said he has also struggled with long-term health problems that he attributes to malnutrition and inappropriate medications he was given while detained. He was shaken by reports of people sent away without due process: 'I wouldn't have been surprised if I ended up at Guantánamo Bay or El Salvador, because it was so disorganised. I was just at the mercy of the federal government.' - The Guardian
Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Teenager dies on first lads' holiday abroad after 'taking pills' in Ibiza
The devastated parents of a teenager who died after apparently taking an ecstasy pill on holiday have urged other youngsters to stay away from drugs. Ryan Long, from Eastwood in Essex, UK, was in Ibiza with four mates on his first ever lads' holiday. However, the 18-year-old lost his life last Tuesday after suddenly falling ill while out in UNVRS nightclub, reports The Mirror. The group had only just arrived on the island - popular with Irish holidaymakers for partying - when Ryan's pals noticed he "didn't seem right" and was "acting funny". After helping him back to their accommodation hoping that he would just sleep it off, he collapsed unconscious with his mouth foaming. Ryan was rushed to a hospital in Palma De Mallorca via an air ambulance before falling into a coma that same evening and sadly dying in intensive care five days later. His final word had been the name of his brother, Aaron. Adrian Long, Ryan's grieving dad, described him as "always full of life" and "smiling". Adrian and his wife, Angela, found out about their son's condition in the early hours of the morning but agonisingly had to wait until Thursday, July 4 for an available flight to Ibiza. They were initially told by doctors that Ryan had only a couple of hours left to live. Angela said that she had drilled it into her son to avoid taking illegal drugs and believes that the high price of food and drink on the island could have been what drove her son to narcotics. His tearful mum told MailOnline: "I think what was in Ryan's head was the expense of the clubs, the drinks. It was 52 euros for a single vodka and coke, it's just extortionate. He was doing an apprenticeship. He's not on brilliant money. And I don't know, I just think it was a cheaper option to get a fix, look somewhere else." Ryan had suffered from acute and "deteriorating" liver failure from the devastating effects of the drug on his body. Angela said the loss of her son is like a "dream" and now wants to warn other young tourists heading out to the party island that it's not worth the risk if they they feel tempted to take drugs while there. Ryan's mates were left traumatised after seeing their friend suddenly deteriorate the way he did but they did all they could to help, according to Ryan's mum. While Adrian hopes the tragic case of his son, who had never even been abroad without his parents before, will make other teens aware of the deadly impact drugs can have. He said that people think it won't happen to them but "it does". "You just want him to wake up, but obviously they're not going to wake up. You hope that they do but in his case, he hasn't," Adrian said when describing the moment his son passed away. He also believes that Ryan was at a slightly higher risk of death from taking an ecstasy pill due to his nut allergy. Apprentice Ryan, who would have been 19 last Saturday, had everything to look forward to and was a long-standing member of local football club Ben Bradford Goalkeeping Academy (BBGK). Owner and close friend of the family, Ben Bradford, has since set up a a GoFundMe page to help support the devastated parents. He said "lovely lad" Ryan enjoyed DJing, was a massive Southend United fan and that it was out of character for him to take any drugs. The club is planning to hold a minute's silence for the teen and "do something in memory of him" to help the shocked community come to terms with the death. Ryan was also a county swimmer and won multiple swimming events, as well as being the youngest boy to qualify for an open water dive certification at a scuba centre in Cyprus. Another close friend of the family also warned people against the "squeaky clean image" of Ibiza that draws in thousands of young holidaymakers every year. He believes that "things like this" happen regularly and added: "We were told by the hospital that there had been five or six cases like this already." The GoFundMe has already raised over £8,000 (approximately €9,200), far surpassing its initial £2,500 (€2,875) target. Donations can be made here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
