Two other women made claims against Newman

Gardaí had sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the man convicted of killing Irish woman Georgina Eager after…

Gardaí had sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the man convicted of killing Irish woman Georgina Eager after a former employee of his told gardaí he had threatened to harm her, stalked her and had forced her to perform sexual favours on his friends.

The woman, in her 20s and from eastern Europe, had complained to gardaí in Crumlin over the telephone after her former employer, Christopher Newman, murdered Wicklow woman Ms Eager on May 22nd, 2003.

She alleged she had a sexual relationship with Newman, a self-styled therapist and British citizen originally from India, when she worked at his Walkinstown clinic.

She told gardaí that he took her passport from her and that she was dependent on him for money.

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She also told detectives that Newman brought his associates to the clinic for massages during which she felt compelled to perform hand relief on the men as instructed by Newman.

The 63-year-old, it is alleged, threatened to harm her if she ever left him and when she became involved in a relationship with another man in Dublin Newman stalked her.

She told gardaí that Newman, also known as "Professor Saph Dean", taped their sexual encounters and some of the encounters she had with his associates. He then threatened to send a tape of this to her family.

He eventually sent an edited tape of a number of the encounters to her family.

Gardaí have also been told that Newman was involved in another relationship with a second non-national woman whom he employed at his clinic.

They were told he blackmailed her in a similar fashion and sent a tape of sexual encounters involving the woman to her family when she tried to extricate herself from the situation.

The Irish Times understands that both tapes were viewed by members of the two families.

A file on the matter is with the DPP. Garda sources were unable to say if any decision had been made in the case. However, one senior officer said the DPP would have been more likely to pursue the case if Newman had not been convicted of Ms Eager's murder on Tuesday at the Inner London Crown Court.

The same source said there may be little point in pursuing the case now because any sentence which might be handed down would be shorter than the life sentence Newman will now serve for Ms Eager's murder, meaning he would not spend any further time in prison.

However, Ms Eager's family have criticised the Irish authorities for not seeking Newman's extradition for trial to Ireland and they may be anxious to see him stand trial here in relation to the other allegations.

After the murder Newman fled to London but was later arrested there by British police. A little-known British legislative provision meant Newman could be tried for the crime in the UK.

A London jury on Tuesday took 4½ hours to find Newman guilty of murder.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times