A Cork man is resisting a High Court application for his extradition to the United Kingdom where he is wanted for the alleged kidnap and assault of his former partner. Mr Justice Michael Peart yesterday reserved judgment on the application.
Kieran Thomas Draisey (45), Lower Range, Rostellan, Midleton, Co Cork, is wanted in the UK for the kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault causing actual bodily harm and for threatening to kill Tracy Whitworth Wilde on dates between 1995 and 1998 in the town of Widness, Greater Manchester.
Seeking the extradition order, Lisa Dempsey BL, for the State, said Mr Draisey met Ms Whitworth Wilde in 1988 and they had two children.
The relationship ended in 1995. On September 14th, 1995, when he was said to be drunk, he had allegedly punched and kicked Ms Whitworth Wilde. It was also claimed he dragged her into the bathroom, put her in the bath and forced her head under the water.
Ms Whitworth Wilde had pretended to be dead but, after she got out of the bath, she was struck with the handle of a brush, it is alleged. Mr Draisey allegedly put her into a car and drove around for several hours, against her will.
After they returned to their residence, Mr Draisey went to bed, taking the keys of the house and the phone with him, leaving her unable to seek help, it is also claimed.
In another incident on December 15th, 1995, Mr Draisey allegedly punched her in the face after he had been drinking all day.
Opposing the extradition application, Paul Coffey SC, defending, said the complaints against his client were first made in 1998. It had been known by the police in England that Mr Draisey was in Ireland since April 2000, and yet the arrest warrant was only issued in January of this year. The lapse of time was not justified, he argued.
Mr Draisey had been living openly in the Midleton area, where his family reside, since his return to Ireland in 1999. He was employed in the construction trade, but had not worked since October 2005, and was currently on disability. He was now in a new relationship and had a four-year-old child.