A British former Catholic priest wanted on historic child sex abuse charges should not be extradited to the UK because the crimes were committed too long ago, a court in Kosovo ruled on Monday.
Laurence Soper was detained in the western town of Peja - where he had lived for abour five years under the name Andrew Charles Kingston - in May on an international arrest warrant. He is accused of sex offences while he was a teacher in Britain. Soper allegedly committed the offences at St Benedict's School in Ealing, where he was a teacher in the 1970s and 1980s.
The former abbot, now in his 70s, reportedly jumped bail in 2011 and a European arrest warrant was issued in 2012.
"British citizen Andrew Charles Kingston Soper should not be extradited because offences he has been charged with exceeded the statute of limitations," a spokeswoman at the Basic Court, the first instance court in Peja, said.
Soper will remain in custody and the prosecutor has three days to appeal the ruling, she said.
This is the second time authorities in Kosovo have rejected the extradition request. In June, a court in Pristina rejected the request, seeking more documents from the British authorities.
Soper was arrested in 2010 when a man in his 40s came forward with an allegation of sexual assault at the school, which was also attended by actor Andy Serkis and comedian Julian Clary. He was bailed but did not return to a London police station in March 2011.
Kosovo saw fierce fighting in the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Its independence has not been recognised by Serbia and it still suffers from high unemployment and low income.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
