New Zealand police have arrested Bernard McGrath, a former Catholic brother and convicted pedophile after Australian authorities filed 252 new charges against him.
McGrath voluntarily left Sri Lanka last week and arrived at Christchurch International Airport on Friday. Police deny he had fled to Sri Lanka, saying he was only there for a holiday.
He was allowed through immigration before being arrested in the city a few hours later.
After spending the weekend in police cells, McGrath appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Monday. Judge Farish granted him conditional bail and remanded him until December 17 to allow him time to study the new charges.
Australian police want McGrath extradited to face the new charges of abusing, molesting and raping boys and young adults at church-run institutions in New South Wales over several decades.
At his next hearing McGrath will either accept extradition or oppose the application.
In 2006, McGrath was jailed for five years for sexually abusing boys at Marylands School in Christchurch in the 1970s, and was paroled in 2008.
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