An extradition proceeding has begun to bring a notorious pedophile priest back from the U.S. to Ireland where he faces ten separate cases. Patrick McCabe (74), now lives in California, but it charged with committing the offences while a priest in the Dublin archdiocese between 1973 and 1981.
Six men who were children at the time have claimed they were abused by McCabe when he was a priest.
All have described in graphic detail being abused in the parish rectory and in an inner-city Dublin school.
His defence attorney, David Cohen, has said that McCabe is in very poor health and is a ‘frail,weak old man’ who should not be extradited He will appeal the refusal to grant him bail at a hearing on Friday.
In 1982 McCabe left Ireland and practised as a priest in California.
The allegations of abuse were first made against him in 1987 and shortly after he resigned the priesthood in 1988.
Charges were not pursued back then because his whereabouts were unknown.
Interpol finally tracked him down to a house in Alameda, California, near San Francisco in 2003.
He was interviewed by Irish police in 2007 for three successive days.
His attorney Cohen said his client was not a flight risk and that he had surrendered his passport and was electronically tagged.
He said he intends to oppose the extradition request on the grounds that the offence of indecent assault has no similar legal standing under US federal law or the laws of California. That is disputed by the United States authorities.
