Sex offender nabbed in city centre

A CONVICTED UK sex offender has been arrested in the city centre by Gardai before he could board a flight to Hungary.

Julian Myerscough, from Bolton, was convicted at Ipswich Crown Court, Suffolk, of making and possessing indecent images of children in 2010 and had received a 15-month sentence.

He appeared before at the same court on Wednesday, September 30, on similar charges but absconded before he could be convicted.

He was identified as travelling on a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin at lunchtime yesterday and an alert was issued. Gardai from the newly formed Garda National Protective Service Bureau mounted an operation in conjunction with Store Street Gardai and the Garda Extradition Section and liaised closely with Suffolk Police and the National Crime Agency.

A European Extradition Warrant was obtained and he was arrested at a city centre hotel this morning. Gardai say he had booked a flight to Budapest, Hungary for later today but due to the close co-operation between the Irish and UK authorities, his efforts to evade justice were foiled.

This is the second ‘on the run’ sex offender apprehended by gardai in recent weeks. Mian Shahid, who was convicted in his absence of two counts of sexual assault of an 18-year-old girl, was arrested at Dublin Airport early last month after a media appeal.

Detective Inspector Paul O’Brien from the Sex Offender Management and Intelligence Unit at the Garda National Protective Services Bureau, said: “This is an example of close co-operation between the Irish and UK authorities. It demonstrates that An Garda Siochana has a robust operational approach to transient sex offenders.”

Julian Myerscough is expected to appear before the High Court later this afternoon.