A 38-year-old man has been refused bail at a special sitting of a court in the Midlands, where he faced nearly 400 sex abuse charges.

A detective inspector told the court that at 8.32am today he executed 394 arrests warrants for the man - who cannot be named - at Dublin Airport.

He was extradited from the United States, after being arrested by Homeland Security in New York in January.

Gardaí in the Midlands had been working with Interpol and authorities in the US and UK for around 18 months to get him returned to Ireland.

The court heard he was formally arrested at a Midlands Garda station at 10.15am.

The man was charged with 210 counts of sexual abuse, 177 counts of rape, three counts of assault causing harm and single counts of rape, false imprisonment, damage to property and one count of harassment.

The offences allegedly took place during a six-year period in the 2000s against two complainants, who were minors.

The man will face trial in the Central Criminal Court.

Judge Kevin Kilrane refused his application for bail because of the serious nature of the charges.