Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney jailed over indecent assaults

Former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney has been sentenced to 16 years and eight months after being found guilty of indecently assaulting four girls and the attempted rape of one of them.Gibney, 78, was found guilty of indecently assaulting the four girls and the attempted rape of one of the girls in a changing room when she was 12.He had pleaded guilty to five charges of indecently assaulting a girl in Ireland in 1976, but denied dozens of other charges of indecently assaulting the girls when they were aged between eight and 15, at various locations between 1974 and 1981.Earlier this year, a jury returned guilty verdicts on 40 charges relating to incidents in the 1970s and 1980s.Gibney, who was arrested on foot of an Irish extradition warrant in Florida least year, had lived in the US for years.Former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney appeared at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Archive)At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday, Judge Michael O’Higgins sentenced him to 16 years and eight months with the final 14 months suspended.