Olympic Swim Coach George Gibney Arrested on Sex Abuse Charges
Former Olympic swimming coach George Gibney has been arrested in the United States with a request to extradite him to Ireland to face 79 charges of sexual abuse of children.
The arrest by U.S. Marshals on Tuesday came with an extradition request from the Irish national police force, Garda. Its Protective Services Bureau, which specializes in cases of sexual abuse, has been investigating new allegations into Gibney’s conduct as a swim coach dating back decades. Gibney faces 78 charges of indecent assault of four girls aged 8 to 14 that he coached as well as one count of attempted rape. The cases stem from Gibney’s actions in the 1970s and 80s.
Gibney was arrested in Florida, where he has been living for several years. He was remanded to custody by a court in Orlando and will appear in court again on July 11.
Gibney, 77, coached at Trojan Swim Club in Dublin during the 1980s and 1990s and for the Irish national team from 1984-91. He faced criminal charges in Dun Laoghaire District Court in 1993 of 27 counts of indecency against swimmers. The prosecution was halted by a judicial review over whether the length of time since the allegations allowed Gibney to mount a proper defense. The challenge reached the Irish Supreme Court, during which time Gibney fled, living first in Scotland and then the United States.
Garda was unsuccessful in bringing charges after a second investigation in 1997. Gibney has lived abroad for more than 30 years under the threat of prosecution.
A documentary by the BBC in 2020 titled, “Where is George Gibney?” investigated the case in the early 1990s as well as new allegations, some of which are alleged to have occurred while Gibney was in the United States. Garda opened a new investigation when the four individuals in question came forward after the documentary, from 2020-22. The victims were not involved in any of the allegations covered by the documentary.
The case was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions in June 2023, which recommended the filing of more than 50 charges. The Irish Embassy in Washington formally requested his extradition last October.