A former champion pool player has appeared in court in England accused of abducting a 14-year-old Dublin girl. Mr Walter Bowens (36) was yesterday remanded in custody by Chester Magistrate's Court until Monday, charged with unlawfully detaining the teenager between September 30th and October 22nd, 1997. A bail application was refused.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, returned to Dublin yesterday morning.
Gardai met her at the airport and handed her over to the care of the Eastern Health Board.
She then appeared in the Dublin juvenile court, initially in connection with a school attendance application, which was dealt with in camera.
Mr Bowens, a father-of-two from Mullafin, Balrath, Navan, Co Meath, was arrested by police in Chester last Tuesday.
The prosecutor in Chester, Ms Kate Hurst, said the defendant had removed the girl from her family and brought her to Chester with her consent. But it was irrelevant to the charge whether consent had first been agreed because of the girl's age.
She said the girl, from a family of five, was expelled from school last year and began working as a waitress in a bar where Mr Bowens was a manager.
The pair began seeing each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, it was alleged. The girl was reported missing late last month and it transpired that she had travelled Chester with Mr Bowens.
They were due to move into accommodation which was obtained on the basis that the girl was pregnant and that she was much older than 14.
Mr Bowens said he was fond of the girl, but there had been no sexual activity, although they had talked of a life together. He thought she was 15 years old.
Ms Hurst said the girl had refused to go back to her parents. She said there was a great deal of support for her family in Ireland, but not for Mr Bowens who would be at risk if granted liberty.
Mr Erwin Bamforth, defending, said Mr Bowens alleged the girl spoke of difficulties at home. He had taken her to social services, but they had sent her back home to those difficulties, he claimed.
According to Mr Bamforth, the girl's parents were aware of their relationship.
Mr Bowens had decided to look for work in England and, after the girl threatened suicide, she went with him. The pair had got work in Chester and were "perfectly happy". Mr Bamforth said the girl had telephoned and written home while in England, but did not give her family her address.
Mr Bowens rang the Garda when he heard about the massive media interest in the case in Ireland. Mr Bamforth said the pair were found in separate beds, separately made.
On the issue of bail, he said Mr Bowens would not risk returning to Ireland but was safe in England.
Ms Hurst took issue with some of the defence's comments. She said the girl's parents had not approved of the relationship and had at one point banned her from seeing Mr Bowens.