Interpol probe | 

US national admits applying for Irish passports using names of babies who had died

Judge Mary Dorgan was told Parker will sign pleas in respect of four charges in relation to the provision of false information to obtain a passport and one count of possession of a false document, namely a driving licence.

Today at 07:42

A US national has admitted charges relating to an investigation into the issuance of passports in the names of Irish babies who died in the 1950s.

Randolph Kirk Parker (72), who was identified with the assistance of Interpol, pleaded guilty to a total of five charges before Cork District Court.

Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said his client had indicated he would sign guilty pleas to all five charges.

Parker had been described as a mystery man after being arrested at the Passport Office in Cork last September. Gardaí were unable to confirm his identity for several weeks.

Judge Mary Dorgan was told Parker will sign pleas in respect of four charges in relation to the provision of false information to obtain a passport and one count of possession of a false document, namely a driving licence.

Detective Garda Padraig Hanley of the Garda National Bureau of Crime Investigation (GNBCI) told the court Parker allegedly used the name of a baby, Philip Frank Morris, who was born in December 1952 but died a few weeks later, to apply for a passport in Cork.

The detective said they had spoken to the brother of the late Philip Morris, who died when he was four months old in 1953.

The court subsequently heard Parker had a passport in the name of Geoffrey Warbrook. Det Gda Hanley said gardaí had also spoken to relatives of Geoffrey Warbrook who confirmed he died in 1952, within four months of his birth.

Parker is alleged to have held an Irish passport for three decades.

He appeared before Judge Dorgan on signed pleas in relation to the charges.

The 72-year-old, who the court previously heard had an FBI arrest record dating back to 1970, will sign guilty pleas to counts of using false information to obtain passports and one count of possessing a false document. The false document charge relates to the possession of a driving licence in the name of another individual last September 14.

The charges of using false information to obtain passports relate to dates including September 12 to 24, 2012; August 7, 2013; June 7, 2022 and September 11, 2023.

Sergeant Pat Lyons told Judge Dorgan that a summary charge of giving a false name to investigating gardaí in Cork at the time of his arrest last September will now be withdrawn by the State. Judge Dorgan noted that the summary matter will not be pursued by the State.

Parker was remanded in ongoing custody until next Wednesday, February 14, when the case is listed for mention.

A date for a sentencing hearing will be agreed for Cork Circuit Criminal Court on that date.

The American appeared in court yesterday after a number of previous court appearances by video link.

He was dressed in a pair of dark trousers and a dark top, and did not address the court during the brief hearing.

The court previously heard Interpol had liaised with 195 member countries in order to help gardaí identify the defendant.

Det Gda Hanley previously told the court that, when questioned, the man explained he was living in Ireland and needed a passport to leave the country.

However, he refused to assist officers in any way in respect of his original identity or original nationality.

A team was set up to carry out enquiries and to liaise with Interpol amid a belief the defendant was a US national because of his accent.

Gardaí finally received information last November on the defendant’s identity after an inquiry that lasted almost two months.