A former vet who is wanted to face multiple charges of sexual activity with animals and of having extreme pornographic material has appeared before the High Court this afternoon on foot of an extradition warrant.
Oliver Lown (35), with an address at Main Road, Kesgrave, Suffolk is wanted by authorities in the United Kingdom to face 12 offences, which also include making indecent images of children.
The warrant states that 1,219 extreme pornographic images, of which 1,067 are unique, were recovered from the hard drive of Mr Lown's laptop as well as 3,512 extreme pornographic videos, of which 3,511 are unique.
Letterkenny
Mr Lown was arrested by detectives from the Garda’s extradition unit on Monday and taken to Letterkenny Garda Station following the endorsement of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by the police in Suffolk. The former vet appeared before Mr Justice Paul Burns in the High Court today wearing a face mask, an orange jacket and trousers.
Detective Sergeant Jim Kirwan of the Garda Extradition Unit told Aoife Carroll BL, for the State, that he was on duty yesterday in Kilmacrenan in Co Donegal and called to an address at Gortnaskea near Letterkenny at 6.37pm, where he arrested Mr Lown on foot of the warrant and cautioned him.
Outlining the offences facing Mr Lown, Det Sgt Kirwan said the warrant relates to 12 offences relating to images found on a PC laptop on April 4th, 2019 in Kesgrave in Suffolk. The detective said he read the precis [summary] of offences contained in the warrant to the respondent and asked him whether he knew what they were about, which Mr Lown indicated he did.
Mr Lown was then conveyed to Letterkenny Garda Station.
After Det Sgt Kirwan gave evidence of Mr Lown's arrest, Mr Justice Burns said he was satisfied the person before him was the person to whom the warrant related.
The judge informed Mr Lown of his rights and told him that he is entitled to voluntarily surrender himself to the UK authorities between now and the hearing date.
Mr Justice Burns fixed February 26th as the date for the full hearing of the extradition case. He remanded Mr Lown in custody until that date, when an application for bail is expected to be made.
House visit
The warrant states that PC Harvey accompanied by probation officer Chris Royal attended a house on Main Street, Kesgrave, Suffolk in the UK at 10.10am on April 4th, 2019. They were informed by the occupants that their son, Mr Lown, lived in the annexe above their garage with another man.
The warrant also stated that the other man is a registered sex offender and the purpose of the visit was to ascertain where he [the sex offender] was residing since he had not notified an address as per the Sex Offender Requirements.
The warrant further states that PC Harvey located Mr Lown in the annexe and a situation then unfolded whereby Mr Lown threw a laptop in a pond to evade its inspection by police and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possessing extreme pornography. Mr Lown was also arrested on the same date for perverting the course of justice and possession of heroin.
Hard drive
The laptop was submitted to the Digital Forensic Unit and forensic examination was completed on the extracted hard drive, which included 1,067 extreme pornographic images and 3,511 extreme pornographic videos.
The warrant also states that police attended Burrell Road, Ipswich on August 29th, 2019, where Mr Lown was present. He was arrested on suspicion of making, taking, possessing and distributing indecent images of children. He was also arrested on suspicion of Class B drugs. He was interviewed and responded "no comment" to all questions asked.
The warrant states that police arranged to meet Mr Lown at Martlesham Police Investigation Centre on November 27th, 2019. He did not attend, went missing and was circulated on the UK's Police National Computer as "wanted".
