Mallon to remain in jail for appeal

Prosecutors argue Mallon was a 'highly-functioning individual'

A former senior Northern Ireland civil servant who arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex in a hotel room in the US is to remain in prison even though he is due for release.

Stan Mallon was jailed for 21 months in March, after admitting using an internet chatline to contact a girl who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.

He was due to be released from prison on Wednesday.

The father-of-five from Crumlin in County Antrim, escaped the maximum sentence of more than four years in prison after the judge ruled that he was suffering a "diminished capacity".

Prosecutors in Chicago have appealed that his sentence was too lenient, and should be increased to between 41 and 51 months.

They have argued that Mallon was a "highly-functioning individual" when he set up a liaison with a girl he believed was 14.

The court ruled on Tuesday that Mallon should stay in jail until that appeal is heard.

Mallon was acting chief executive of the Ulster Scots Agency until his arrest last March in Chicago.