A MAN HAS been charged with sexual assault after being extradited from Spain.

The man, who can not be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin this morning, charged with four counts of sexual assault against one victim. The alleged assault is said to have occurred more than 20 years ago, but was only reported in the last two years.

He had been previously questioned by gardaí in Spain, where he had been living, and was escorted back to Ireland on a flight yesterday.

Garda Superintendent Kevin Gralton, of Store Street Garda Station, told the court the man made no comment in response to the charges. He sought his remand in custody “due to the seriousness of the charges”. He also said gardaí believe the man poses a flight risk as he has been residing outside of the country for some time.

Kieran Conway, solicitor for the man, told the judge his client “has a presumption of innocence” and has denied all charges.

He said gardaí are already in possession of the man’s passport so he “can’t go anywhere”.

Present in the court was the accused’s brother and wife, from whom he is separated. Conway said the man could live with his brother at a Dublin address if granted bail and that his wife had €10,000 and was willing to act as a surety.

When questioned by Conway on the stand, the woman agreed that she was aware of the nature of the charges, that she had no convictions herself and that she knew she could lose the money if her husband breached his bail conditions.

She said she would be unable to get the cash from the Credit Union until Tuesday because of the bank holiday.

Superintendent Gralton told the court it was “not satisfactory” for the accused to reside at his brother’s address and the man’s wife agreed he could stay with her if granted bail.

The judge granted bail on a bond of €10,000 on the condition that he sign on at a garda station daily. A garda application for a curfew was denied, but the man was told to stay away from an area of Dublin.

His solicitor said he would be  making an application for legal aid.

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