A ‘fugitive’ former priest wanted in connection with a string of historic alleged sex offences against young girls has been arrested and faces extradition after he was found in the Isle of Man.

Father Arseniuk Slawomir, 55, is accused by the Polish authorities of 25 sexual assaults against five girls aged under 16 while he was teaching them music lessons.

The offences are alleged to have been committed between 2006 and 2015.

He was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) from Poland and brought before Westminster Magistrates' Court.

It is understood that he was arrested while working at a restaurant in Douglas and he had been living in the Isle of Man for some time.

The NCA’s extradition unit is responsible for carrying out arrests of people wanted on European and international arrest warrants.

The former priest did not consent to be extradited and was remanded in custody ahead of the next full hearing on July 15.

An NCA spokesperson said: ‘He was arrested on the Isle of Man on 16 June 2025 and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court the following day and remanded until the next appearance.’

According to Polish media reports Father Arseniuk allegedly abused music students at the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Siedlce, near Warsaw.

He has been wanted on an EAW and an INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organisation) Red Notice since the District Prosecutor's Office in Siedlce began investigating the priest in February 2022, according to local reports.

A Red Notice is a request issued by INTERPOL to law enforcement agencies in its 195 member countries, asking them to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

He is understood to have left Poland after being summoned by the prosecutor's office and has been wanted since 2023.

It is not clear when or how he entered the UK and then the Isle of Man, but the Polish authorities allege that he is a ‘fugitive from justice.’

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man Constabulary said: ‘We can confirm that a warrant was executed in the Isle of Man on June 16 for a Polish national in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police extradition unit.

‘This was as a result of information received from Interpol that this person was wanted in Poland.

‘The Isle of Man Constabulary supports the work of our partner forces in the UK to ensure any wanted persons are repatriated, once formal Court Warrants are issued and then backed locally, to allow the judicial process to be completed in their home country.’

Immigration checks in the UK are carried out by the UK Home Office through Border Force, which is responsible for monitoring and securing the country’s borders.

The Isle of Man has its own immigration system which is aligned to that of the UK.

The Isle of Man is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA), a long-standing arrangement between the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man that allows free movement of people. This means there are no routine immigration checks for British and Irish citizens travelling between these areas.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Liverpool confirmed that it had no connection with Father Arseniuk and that he has not performed any roles at any of the catholic churches on the Isle of Man.

On September 25 2015, just two weeks after the most recent offence was said to have occurred, he led a prayer vigil at the Holy Trinity Church in Janów Podlaski, to mark World Youth Day, according to local reports.

The priest was a regular in the Polish press in connection with his involvement with youth choirs in the church.

A translated report in the Super Express dated May 17 2024, said: ‘Father Sławomir Arseniuk, from the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Siedlce, has been wanted by the prosecutor's office in Lublin since last year on charges of molesting minors during music classes.

‘He led them at the Siedlce cathedral church. In recent days, the so-called Interpol red notice, the highest category for pursuing criminals worldwide, was added to the wanted list.

‘The former priest is wanted for sexual offences with minors under the age of 15 or committing another sexual act against such a person or causing them to submit to such acts or to perform them, but also causing another person by force, unlawful threat or deceit to submit to another sexual act or to perform such an act.’

According to the EAW he is wanted for eight alleged sexual touching offences against one girl between September 1 2006 and November 16 2007.

There is one alleged offence against another girl between July 1 and September 19 2008 and nine alleged offences against a third girl from July 1 2008 to October 25 2010.

There is one alleged offence against a fourth girl between January 1 and December 31 2012 and a further six alleged offences against a fifth victim between January 1 2012 and September 11 2015.

At a second hearing at the court on Tuesday, June 24, the case was adjourned until next month. A full extradition hearing is likely to be a number of months away.