Cruising away from prosecution!
Police divert ship to arrest alleged paedophile priest

A PRIEST wanted for allegedly sexually abusing children was snatched by police from a cruise ship that had been diverted to Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
  The Los Angeles Police Department asked the M.S. Volendam, which was heading for Eastern Russia, to make the unscheduled stop in the remote port of Dutch Harbour.
  G. Neville Rucker, 82, a retired Catholic priest, offered no resistance when officers of the Alaska State Patrol took him into custody, authorities said.
  Officials used the pretext of a wounded crew member to explain the change in itiner-

ary, which was arranged with the help of the United States Coast Guard and Alaska State Patrol.
  "We did not want to alert anyone on the ship," US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Roger Wetherell said. "But a crew member on the cruise ship had suffered an injury, so passengers were told that was the reason for the diversion."
  The arrest, on Friday, came two days after prosecutors asked Father Rucker's lawyer to surrender his client. Invest-igators mistakenly had believed Father Rucker would give up and were surprised to learn he had left on a cruise. The LAPD never considered him to be a fugitive.
  Prosecutors also filed 23

charges of child sexual abuse against Father Rucker. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to 26 years in prison.
  Sandi Gibbons, spokes-woman for the Los Angeles District Attorney, said Father Rucker's extradition from Alaska would be sought if necessary. "We're very happy that he's been arrested," Ms Gibbons said.
  The Volendam was on a 64-day Pacific circle cruise from Vancouver, British Col-umbia, with its next scheduled port of call in eastern Russia on October 1. It left from Vancouver on September 23.
  All seven girls Father Rucker allegedly abused were under 14 years of age at

the time, prosecutors said. He was charged with crimes spanning 30 years, beginning in the 1940s.
  According to the criminal complaint, Father Rucker began abusing his first victim

in 1947 and continued abusing girls until 1976.
  Twelve counts related to one girl, whom prosecutors said he abused from 1971 to 1973.
  Although some of the alleged crimes occurred more than 50

years ago, the District Attorney's office can pros-ecute Father Rucker because the abuse was not reported until this year. -- LOS ANGELES TIMES