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	'Sex Abuse' Priest to Be Extradited Coventry Telegraph June 10, 2009 http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2009/06/10/sex-abuse-priest-to-be-extradited-92746-23834963/ A FORMER Coventry priest is to be flown back to the UK to face allegations of abuse against altar boys in the city during the 1980s. The extradition of James Robinson – a former assistant parish priest at St Elizabeth's, Eld Road, Foleshill – has been agreed by a magistrate judge in Los Angeles, California. West Midlands Police say the decision means the paperwork will now be completed for the 71-year-old's return, which is expected to take place within the next two months. The former city priest will also be given an opportunity to appeal against the court's decision. Robinson was arrested by U.S Marshals at his home in Duarte, Los Angeles County in January following an extradition request by West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service in connection with historical sexual offence allegations. At least two men in Coventry claim they were sexually abused as boys by Robinson and had been given compensation by the archdiocese of about £25,000 apiece. Although the allegations were investigated by police, Robinson has never faced a court in this country. He moved to California in 1985 where there was no extradition treaty with the UK. He transferred to a position in the Catholic church in Los Angeles but was barred from acting as a priest in 1993. The latest developments follow a change in law in the US state in 2006, which now makes extradition possible. Three years ago the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, wrote to Robinson pleading with him to return to Britain and face the allegations surrounding him. But Robinson emailed back denying he did anything wrong and saying he had no intention of returning to Britain. West Midlands Police was spurred into the latest action following an internal investigation which concluded last year. A spokesman for West Midlands Police said the force had kept those who have made allegations against Robinson updated and would continue to do so throughout the extradition process.
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