Newspaper adverts will appear in Ireland and the US this week appealing to victims of George Gibney, the former national swimming coach who allegedly sexually abused children, to help build a prosecution case against him.

One Child International, a non-profit, anti-child abuse organisation in Florida, hopes to have Gibney either charged in America or extradited to Ireland for trial. The classified ads will appear in the Irish Evening Herald and a local newspaper in Denver, Colorado, where Gibney coached young swimmers after rape charges against him were dropped by order of the Irish High Court in 1994. 

One Child has engaged Ken Smyth & Co, a Dublin solicitors' firm, to serve victims. In 1994, The High Court in Ireland ruled that any charges against Gibney could not be revived - on the grounds that he could not adequately defend himself against because of a long time lapse.

"If charges aren't raised shortly, Gibney's going to walk," Evin Daly, One Child's director, told the Irish Sunday Times after a meeting in Dublin last week with a senior official of the Department of Justice. "I think the police and public interest in this will diminish quickly, so there's an urgency about it. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is aware of the investigation. We've met in person with Detective Ken Jones and police chief Frank Ross in that department. There are a couple of people that I've heard about who I hope will contact gardai. If they feel more comfortable, our solicitor will accompany them."

In reply to a letter from Daly enquiring about the possibility of having Gibney extradited, Dermot Ahern, the minister for justice, wrote: "I am advised that the gardai will rigorously investigate any further complaints made by affected parties against him and take appropriate action."

George Gibney, 63, is now living in Orange City, Florida, where he is an office holder in the Catholic church-run Knights of Columbus. The question is: why is that tolerated?