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	Ex-Priest Extradited to Ireland in Sex-Abuse Case By Henry K. Lee San Francisco Chronicle June 8, 2011 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/08/BAMB1JQMGL.DTL SANTA ROSA - A former Roman Catholic priest has been extradited from Northern California to his native Ireland to face charges that he sexually assaulted six boys from 1973 to 1981, authorities said Tuesday. Patrick McCabe, 75, was handed over to officers from Ireland's national police service at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday night, said Michael Dyke, supervising deputy with the local U.S. Marshals Service. A 2009 report sponsored by the Irish government on the Dublin Archdiocese's handling of sexual abuse said Catholic officials had moved McCabe to the United States after they became aware of complaints against him. McCabe has denied the charges of sexual assault to Irish police. McCabe worked in churches throughout the Santa Rosa Diocese from 1983 until his forced resignation in 1987. He was living in an Alameda condominium when he surrendered in July to U.S. authorities, who then sought his extradition. At least three former parishioners in Northern California have sued the Santa Rosa Diocese, claiming McCabe molested them. McCabe's attorney, Robert Beles, said Tuesday that he was disappointed the government had flown his client to Ireland before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on his extradition appeal. Beles said the U.S. treaty with Ireland prohibits the extradition of anyone who could not be punished "for similar acts committed here," and that the statute of limitations in the United States "has long since run." "I believe that the demonization of Patrick McCabe as a former Catholic priest with allegations of molestation of minors played a part in how both Ireland and the United States government handled his case," Beles said. Contact: hlee@sfchronicle.com
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