FBI appeal after Gareth Vincent Hall charged with rape

Gareth Vincent Hall worked as a lifeguard at Arfon Leisure Centre, Caernarfon

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is appealing for information on a north Wales man charged with the kidnap and rape of a 10-year-old girl in the US state of Oregon.

Gareth Vincent Hall, 22, a lifeguard from Caernarfon, is being held in the city of Eugene, Oregon.

The FBI is concerned that Mr Hall travelled to other US states.

FBI spokesperson Gerald Dezsofi told BBC Wales that the bureau was asking for help from people in the US.

"Obviously we are concerned that since Mr Hall travelled to other states, that there is potential for other victims," said Mr Dezfosi.

He said the FBI was "putting the information out there to as many people as possible".

"Law enforcement agencies are working together to gather as much facts as possible," he added.

Detective Jed McGuire, of Eugene Police, told a press conference that apparently Mr Hall had been going to another part of the US to meet somebody and officers were still looking into it.

Suspended

Anyone with information has been urged to contact the FBI in Oregon.

Mr Hall, who worked at Arfon Leisure Centre in Caernarfon, was suspended last October by his employer, Gwynedd council, following a separate criminal investigation by North Wales Police.

North Wales Police had earlier confirmed that a 22-year-old man from Talysarn was arrested in October "on suspicion of offences committed online and remains on police bail".

Asked about latest developments, North Wales Police told BBC Wales: "The investigation into the 22-year-old man from the Talysarn area is ongoing. North Wales Police are liaising with police in America."

Mr Hall is said by US police to have flown to Oregon in April where he hired a car and then took the girl to a hotel. He was arrested trying to re-enter the US on 2 May at O'Hare Airport, Chicago, and charged with rape, kidnap and other serious sexual offences.

He is due to appear in court in the US on 10 June. Bail has been set at $1.5m (£956,000).

Gwynedd council has said that it cannot comment on the details of the police investigations in north Wales or the US. But it said "all relevant child protection procedures have been followed by the council in the management of this case."