The High Court today refused to order the extradition to the UK of a West of Ireland priest on charges of indecent assaulting altar boys in the late 1960s.
The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan said the surrender of the priest should not be ordered because of the excessive delay - 30 years - between the alleged offences and the making of the first complaint.
He also found inordinate and inexcusable delay on the part of the UK authorities - over two years - between taking the last complainant statement and applying for a European arrest warrant. The European Arrest Warrant related to seven offences of allegedly indecently assaulting three young boys aged between 9 and 13 years on dates between December 1967 and Decenmber 1972 in England.
The complainants had come forward in the last three to four years to give witness statements.
In a reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Finnegan said the European Arrest Warrant was issued in August of last year and the man was arrested a few weeks later. The judge said he was satisfied there there was no delay by authorities here.
However, a year after receiving the last witness statement, the judge said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had received papers concerning the proposed extradition. At the time, the CPS wanted to wait for an Irish Supreme Court judgment in another extradition case which was delivered in March last year.
Taking all the circumstances into account including the delay, Mr Justice Finnegan said the court not be satisfied the defendant's consitutional right to a fair trial would be respected.