British priest ordered home to face sex charges against choirboys

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A British priest has been ordered home from the Canary Islands to face charges of sexually assaulting choirboys in Derbyshire, police have said.

The priest, 85, who has not been named, faces 16 charges - 10 of them serious - against boys in the Derby area in the 1960s.

The man was arrested on Tenerife, where police said he had lived "for some time".

No date has yet been set for his extradition.

'More than 40 years ago'

Derbyshire Police said they had worked closely with the Spanish police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) to track the man down.

He was arrested using a European Arrest Warrant.

A spokesperson said the alleged offences dated back more than 40 years.

He went before the High Court in Madrid where he consented to be handed over to the British authorities.

Judge Eloy Velasco then ordered the priest's extradition.

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