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Former NorCal Priest Extradited To Ireland On Molestation Charges

SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) - Former Roman Catholic priest Patrick Joseph McCabe was extradited to Ireland Sunday night to face charges of assaulting six young boys in the Dublin area between 1973 and 1981.

McCabe, 75, worked in several churches in the Santa Rosa Diocese between 1983 and 1987 when he was forced to resign amid allegations he molested four young parishioners in Humboldt County. McCabe also briefly served in a Guerneville parish.

The alleged victims sued the Santa Rosa Diocese, alleging the diocese knew McCabe was treated in New Mexico for pedophilia.

McCabe had been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since Aug. 10 pending his extradition to Ireland.

He was turned over Sunday evening at San Francisco International Airport to officers of An Garda Siochana, the National Police of Ireland, Supervising Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Dyke said.

McCabe faces nine counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault on six boys 10-14 years old in two parishes of the Dublin Archdiocese where he was a priest between 1961 and 1983.

He was first accused by Irish police in 1988 and was forced to leave the priesthood that year, according to extradition papers.

Court filings state McCabe left Irish jurisdiction in 1988 and authorities lost track of him until Interpol, the international police agency, reported in 2003 he was living in Alameda.

McCabe surrendered to U.S. Magistrate Maria-Elena James in San Francisco on July 30. He was placed under house arrest until Aug. 4 when James ordered he be held in custody while awaiting extradition hearings. He was then taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, Calif..

On Feb. 22, a federal magistrate in San Francisco ordered him extradited to Ireland.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)

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