Paedophile accused of rape and assault escapes extradition

An Irish American convicted of sexually assaulting two 12-year-old girls in Dublin has escaped extradition from Britain to the US to face trial for abusing three young girls there.

Shawn Sullivan, who holds US and Irish dual citizenship, is accused of the rape of a 14-year-old girl and the sexual molestation of two 11-year-olds in Minnesota between 1993 and 1994. He is seen in the US as one of its most-wanted alleged sex criminals.

He fled to Ireland after the charges were levelled against him and met and married an Irish woman. In 1997 he got a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting two 12-year-old girls in Dublin while his wife was pregnant.