landlord Trevor Rowan (45) spoke of his shock after learning that a lodger at his home on the Costa del Sol appeared on BBC programme Crimewatch accused of child abuse. Glen Tranter, who fled the UK while on bail, is wanted on eight charges of sexual offences against girls under the age of 16. The offences which include sexual touching of a child and indecent assault, date back to 1992. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph from his bar in Benalmadena, Mr Rowan said he “couldn’t believe it” when family and friends from Co Antrim contacted him to say they had seen Tranter on television. “It was a shock. A real shock,” the former taxi driver explained.
“He was living with me and my girlfriend, Belinda. He used to come into the bar looking for taxi jobs and we got to know him and gave him work like taking people to Malaga airport and that.” Mr Rowan said he and his girlfriend Belinda McIntosh (51), originally from the Shankill area of Belfast, offered Tranter a room after taking pity on him. “Him and his old landlord fell out and he came into the bar one night crying and so we offered him a place to stay,” said Mr Rowan. “My nephew and my father rang me and told me he was on Crimewatch. “As soon as I heard I went to the police in Gibraltar which is about an hour away from where we live and informed them that he was living in my apartment. “That was on Monday night. When he came back to the apartment I confronted him but he denied it and kept on denying it.
“I helped him pack his bags and took him round to the police.” It is understood Mr Rowan first went to the authorities in Gibraltar, a British colony, because of the language barrier. He was interviewed for around three hours during which he identified the suspect from photographs. Tranter is currently detained in Malaga and will be transferred to Madrid for an extradition hearing.
1 comment:
The night before his landlord handed him in, a young mother, saw the appeal on television, made a call to Glen pretending she wanted a taxi, when he arrived she held him in an armlock over a table until the police arrived.They arrested him but he was later released again the next day, as he had not been charged by UK police therefore they couldnt hold him until an international arrest warrant was issused.
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