A former Arbroath man who was tracked by Interpol across the globe will be put on a flight to Australia to stand trial for a number of alleged rapes.
Colin Simpson Henderson, who lived in Arbroath during the 1990s and 2000s, is accused of tricking his way into three women’s houses by pretending he wanted to rent a room.
The alleged attacks took place when the 63-year-old was living in Australia in the early 1980s but he was not arrested at his home until last June.
Judges at the High Court in London have opened the way for his extradition, rejecting claims he was too ill to be put on a long-haul flight.
Mr Justice Kenneth Parker said Henderson lived in Australia until 1996.
His cases were reopened in 1992 because of a suspected link to a triple murder and a sample of male DNA was recovered.
That was later sent to London via Interpol but the investigation stalled until 2012 when there was a cold case review.
The DNA sample was finally matched to Henderson, who accepted he was living near Melbourne at the time of the attacks.
Challenging his extradition, barrister Emma Stuart-Smith pointed to a dangerous lung condition which could leave him dependent on oxygen.
She told the judges it would be “reckless” to put him on a flight back to Australia to stand trial.
Mr Justice Parker said he was confident the Australian authorities could be trusted to make special arrangements on the flight.
It was in the interests of Australian prosecutors that he arrived there in good condition, he added.
Ms Stuart-Smith also claimed sending him back to Australia so many years after the alleged crimes would be “oppressive”.
Mr Justice Parker, sitting with Lord Justice Aikens, accepted Henderson would suffer “hardship” but Australia’s extradition request ‘fell very far short of oppression’ given the seriousness of his alleged offences, the judge ruled.
Henderson, of Mayors Walk, Peterborough, is accused of 58 offences relating to the three attacks, including rape, assault and aggravated burglary.