Latest news with #GeorgeGibney
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Justice may finally catch up to George Gibney, the man Irish swimming tried to forget
He was the internationally renowned Olympic swimming coach who was meant to bring the lagging Irish programme to the next level. But the so-called saviour of Irish swimming, George Gibney, is accused of being a predator who used his high-profile celebrity position in sports to abuse dozens of young swimmers he coached. On Monday, he was arrested in Florida and is facing 79 charges of attempted rape, relating to the alleged sexual abuse of four girls, court documents show. Gibney who is now aged 77, will appear in a Florida Court in the US next week after being arrested by US marshals on foot of an Irish extradition warrant. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. They include 78 for indecent assault and one for attempted rape. The alleged victims are four girls, and the time of the abuse was between January 1, 1971, and August 14, 1974. Escaped justice The disgraced coach was able to hide for decades once he left Ireland shortly after he escaped facing justice here. Former Irish swimming coach George Gibney in 1988. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. Picture: Billy Stickland/Inpho His high profile soon came crashing down after he had been confronted by one of his former champion swimmers, Gary O'Toole, who told an award-winning BBC podcast Where's George Gibney? about quitting the sport after he learned that Gibney had abused his assistant coach Chalkie White as a child. He said Gibney made him wait poolside for some time before speaking to him. O'Toole then told him: 'I am calling in to tell you I'm leaving". 'He looked at me, like as if he was the most shocked man in the universe. He said 'why'? I said 'I think you know why I'm leaving'.' There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about George Gibney's success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/© The tense exchange came about after a conversation on a flight to the world championships in Perth in 1990 with White prior to this. White was now in his 30s and began to understand the depraved actions of his colleague — even though they had been working together, they never spoke about what Gibney did to him. But he did approach O'Toole, who was 21 at the time, on the flight to ask him if he had been abused by Gibney and he replied no. O'Toole told the BBC podcast he came to learn what his coach had done. 'It all started to make sense then and it lent credence to Chalkie's allegations. 'The minute he said it, I believed him. That's when everything began to unravel for Gibney.' For years, up to that point, there was nobody like Gibney, who loved publicity and appeared on TV chats shows all over the world. There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about his success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. George Gibney after returning from the Seoul Olympics in South Korea at Dublin Airport in 1988. Picture: Independent News and Media/Getty O'Toole went on to meet survivors of Gibney's abuse and in 1993, it looked certain that he would face trial here on 27 counts of indecency and carnal knowledge of children. Supreme Court ruling But shockingly, he avoided any prosecution when his legal team successfully argued in one of their reasons for disputing a trial, that too much time had passed since the alleged offences. The prosecution trial was then halted during a judicial review, which ended up in the Supreme Court, who ruled in Gibney's favour. Gardaí tried to launch a second investigation in 1997, but no charges were brought. Gibney immediately left Ireland after the Supreme Court ruling and went to Scotland before travelling to a number of countries around the world including Thailand and then settled in the US where he was eventually arrested. He continued to train swimmers. Once in the US he received a green card and there were rumours of him going on religious trips to Peru and Thailand. He had initially received support from people who believed he was being set up or falsely accused. He lived with another man in the US but largely led a carefree living escaping justice for decades. On Monday, dressed in a brown jacked and blue top, he appeared before Orlando District Court Judge Daniel Irick for 11 minutes to face charges. The charges came about after gardaí reopened the case following the broadcasting of the BBC podcast where reporters tracked him down in the US for the first time in years. Judicial co-operation Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the arrest shows the importance of judicial co-operation with the US. He paid tribute to gardaí for diligent police work. Speaking to reporters during a trade mission to Japan, Mr Martin said: 'I think we all listened to the podcast. I think it's important that we have an agreement with the US — gardaí have been working very diligently and in a detailed way, I have no doubt. 'We will await the next step now,' he added. One of his victims told the podcast that he abused boys and girls and did it in the dressing rooms. She recalled how he did 'everything and anything' to her, and made her wait in the dressing room for lengthy periods of time until the building was empty before he would rape her. She also claimed he stalked her for years when she got older. She said it was 'hard to believe that you just did as you were told, now I know he was waiting for the whole place to clear of everybody else. 'I even picture it, that I was going to school, just living even while, in parallel is the horrible abuse that is going on. "Yet I'm getting up and going training and going to school and doing homework, I can see myself. "It is a funny world, isn't it? To picture someone keeping all that in. I can see all my friends around my sisters and I'm kinda thinking, that is a funny kinda bubble that you are locked in. 'It's not like being locked in a bunker and fed through a window, I was living, I was going to school, I was locked into that world of powerlessness.' Read More Former Olympic swimming coach George Gibney arrested in US
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Former Olympic swimming coach facing 79 charges of sexual abuse after US arrest
He was the internationally renowned Olympic swimming coach who was meant to bring the lagging Irish programme to the next level. But the so-called saviour of Irish swimming, George Gibney, is accused of being a predator who used his high-profile celebrity position in sports to abuse dozens of young swimmers he coached. On Monday, he was arrested in Florida and is facing 79 charges of attempted rape, relating to the alleged sexual abuse of four girls, court documents show. Gibney who is now aged 77, will appear in a Florida Court in the US next week after being arrested by US marshals on foot of an Irish extradition warrant. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. They include 78 for indecent assault and one for attempted rape. The alleged victims are four girls, and the time of the abuse was between January 1, 1971, and August 14, 1974. Escaped justice The disgraced coach was able to hide for decades once he left Ireland shortly after he escaped facing justice here. Former Irish swimming coach George Gibney in 1988. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. Picture: Billy Stickland/Inpho His high profile soon came crashing down after he had been confronted by one of his former champion swimmers, Gary O'Toole, who told an award-winning BBC podcast Where's George Gibney? about quitting the sport after he learned that Gibney had abused his assistant coach Chalkie White as a child. He said Gibney made him wait poolside for some time before speaking to him. O'Toole then told him: 'I am calling in to tell you I'm leaving". 'He looked at me, like as if he was the most shocked man in the universe. He said 'why'? I said 'I think you know why I'm leaving'.' There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about George Gibney's success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/© The tense exchange came about after a conversation on a flight to the world championships in Perth in 1990 with White prior to this. White was now in his 30s and began to understand the depraved actions of his colleague — even though they had been working together, they never spoke about what Gibney did to him. But he did approach O'Toole, who was 21 at the time, on the flight to ask him if he had been abused by Gibney and he replied no. O'Toole told the BBC podcast he came to learn what his coach had done. 'It all started to make sense then and it lent credence to Chalkie's allegations. 'The minute he said it, I believed him. That's when everything began to unravel for Gibney.' For years, up to that point, there was nobody like Gibney, who loved publicity and appeared on TV chats shows all over the world. There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about his success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. George Gibney after returning from the Seoul Olympics in South Korea at Dublin Airport in 1988. Picture: Independent News and Media/Getty O'Toole went on to meet survivors of Gibney's abuse and in 1993, it looked certain that he would face trial here on 27 counts of indecency and carnal knowledge of children. Supreme Court ruling But shockingly, he avoided any prosecution when his legal team successfully argued in one of their reasons for disputing a trial, that too much time had passed since the alleged offences. The prosecution trial was then halted during a judicial review, which ended up in the Supreme Court, who ruled in Gibney's favour. Gardaí tried to launch a second investigation in 1997, but no charges were brought. Gibney immediately left Ireland after the Supreme Court ruling and went to Scotland before travelling to a number of countries around the world including Thailand and then settled in the US where he was eventually arrested. He continued to train swimmers. Once in the US he received a green card and there were rumours of him going on religious trips to Peru and Thailand. He had initially received support from people who believed he was being set up or falsely accused. He lived with another man in the US but largely led a carefree living escaping justice for decades. On Monday, dressed in a brown jacked and blue top, he appeared before Orlando District Court Judge Daniel Irick for 11 minutes to face charges. The charges came about after gardaí reopened the case following the broadcasting of the BBC podcast where reporters tracked him down in the US for the first time in years. Judicial co-operation Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the arrest shows the importance of judicial co-operation with the US. He paid tribute to gardaí for diligent police work. Speaking to reporters during a trade mission to Japan, Mr Martin said: 'I think we all listened to the podcast. I think it's important that we have an agreement with the US — gardaí have been working very diligently and in a detailed way, I have no doubt. 'We will await the next step now,' he added. One of his victims told the podcast that he abused boys and girls and did it in the dressing rooms. She recalled how he did 'everything and anything' to her, and made her wait in the dressing room for lengthy periods of time until the building was empty before he would rape her. She also claimed he stalked her for years when she got older. She said it was 'hard to believe that you just did as you were told, now I know he was waiting for the whole place to clear of everybody else. 'I even picture it, that I was going to school, just living even while, in parallel is the horrible abuse that is going on. "Yet I'm getting up and going training and going to school and doing homework, I can see myself. "It is a funny world, isn't it? To picture someone keeping all that in. I can see all my friends around my sisters and I'm kinda thinking, that is a funny kinda bubble that you are locked in. 'It's not like being locked in a bunker and fed through a window, I was living, I was going to school, I was locked into that world of powerlessness.' Read More Former Olympic swimming coach George Gibney arrested in US
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Why has it taken so long to arrest George Gibney in the US to enable extradition?
More than 30 years have passed since former Irish national swim team coach George Gibney won a legal challenge in Dublin's High Court, ensuring he escaped prosecution for the alleged sexual abuse of young swimmers he coached. Mr Gibney was arrested in Florida on Tuesday by US Marshals on foot of an extradition request from the authorities in the Republic. So what changed to revive law enforcement's interest in Mr Gibney? The short answer is the BBC's Where is George Gibney? podcast. Changes in the Irish criminal justice system have also now made a prosecution possible. The podcast series was driven by journalist Mark Horgan, co-director of the Second Captains production company, which specialises in sports-based radio broadcasts and podcasts. The series was broadcast between 2020 and 2022. It was an extensive trawl into Mr Gibney's background, including his alleged sexual abuse of young swimmers. It culminated in tracing him to Florida and approaching him on the street for comment. Though Mr Gibney refused to engage, many of his alleged victims were listening to the series. Four came forward and made statements to gardaí alleging Mr Gibney had sexually abused them between 1971 and 1981. By 2021, with the statements gathered, detectives at the Sexual Crime Management Unit were deep into a criminal investigation. Once completed, a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). It directed in May 2023 that Mr Gibney should face trial on 79 criminal charges; one charge of attempted rape and 78 of indecent assault. The following month – June 2023 – Dublin District Court issued 79 warrants for his arrest, all done in secret. The Irish authorities, through the Irish Embassy in Washington, last October formally requested Mr Gibney's extradition. On foot of that request, he was arrested in Florida on Tuesday, appearing in court later in the day and was remanded in custody, where he remains pending extradition. The Irish Times has secured the latest documents relating to the case from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The four victims allege they were abused – often weekly – between the ages of about eight and 14. The alleged offences occurred at Mr Gibney's home, his car, the girls' homes, and in changing rooms or an office at sports centres where the girls swam; often five mornings, from 5am, and two afternoons, per week. The BBC podcast and the impact it had in prompting the four victims to come forward are mentioned several times in the court documents from Florida. They were not the first group of alleged victims to come forward, however. Mr Gibney had appeared before Dún Laoghaire District Court in April 1993 to face 27 counts of indecency and carnal knowledge of children. The following year, however, he successfully won a High Court judicial review, which prohibited the DPP from pressing ahead with its case against him. Under accepted legal norms in 1994, the court effectively ruled the allegations were too old, and many details too vague, to warrant a safe prosecution. Since the 1990s, the courts in the Republic have more frequently convicted criminals, mainly child abusers, for crimes committed decades earlier. Victim testimony in court is now regularly the only significant evidence required to secure convictions. In many cases, convictions have been secured even when the passage of time has meant the victims' recall is incomplete around the locations, dates and other details of the abuse to which they say they were subjected. Due to the 1994 High Court ruling relating to the 27 charges at that time, however, the State was effectively precluded from ever taking up those complaints and seeking to run a new prosecution. That meant if Mr Gibney was ever to be investigated again by the Garda, undiscovered victims had to come forward. They had to make a new set of allegations to ground a fresh investigation that did not overlap with the previous inquiry. That did not happen until the Where is George Gibney? podcast began airing five years ago. A renewed effort to prosecute, even based on complaints from new victims, likely would have failed in the 1990s because of the ruling in 1994. It took many years for legal norms to change around how historical sexual abuse cases could be prosecuted. The failed prosecution process against Mr Gibney in the 1990s meant he was free to leave the Republic. He tried to relaunch his coaching career in Scotland, but was forced to leave there when news of the allegations against him emerged. Mr Gibney has lived in the US since 1995.
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Ex-swimming coach George Gibney facing 79 sex abuse charges & will appear in US court next week for extradition decision
FORMER Olympic swimming coach George Gibney will appear in court in the US next week after he was arrested by US Marshals. The hearing at the Advertisement 2 George Gibney is facing 79 charges Credit: RTE An international arrest warrant was issued after the Director of Public Prosecutions moved to charge him with 78 counts of alleged indecent assault and one count of alleged attempted rape. The allegations were made to Gardai by four women between 2020 and 2022. Gardai later submitted a file to the DPP who ruled last year the ex-coach, who's now in his 70s, should be charged with the offences. The complaints were made after a Advertisement Read more in News It's understood Gibney plans to fight the extradition. Gardai had been working closely with the US authorities before Gibney's arrest on Tuesday. Gibney was remanded in custody by a judge in Orlando and is due back in court next Friday week. A former member of Gibney's old swimming club in Advertisement Most read in Irish News 'Former members of the club will be keeping a close eye on the developments. 'Everyone is adamant that he will be fighting the extradition.' PREVIOUS ARREST Gibney has been arrested 32 years after he was charged with 27 counts of indecency against young swimmers. But the case was later withdrawn after he initiated a judicial review over the time it took the allegations to come to Advertisement He spent some time in 2 George Gibney will appear in court in the US next week after he was arrested by US Marshals Credit: RTE
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
How disgraced former Irish swimming coach George Gibney has run from child abuse allegations for over 30 years
For 30 years disgraced former Irish swim coach George Gibney (77) has avoided child abuse allegations, relocating around the United States and refusing to answer questions about his dark past.
