The co-founder of the popular science fiction convention DragonCon is likely to be back in Georgia by Christmas to face multiple charges of child molestation that have been pending since 2000, according to Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter.

Edward E. Kramer, who was arrested in Connecticut earlier this year for allegedly having inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old boy in violation of his bond conditions, on Monday lost an appeal to the Connecticut Court of Appeals that could have thwarted his extradition. That means unless he appeals to that state’s Supreme Court, Kramer will soon be returning to Georgia.

Kramer, first arrested in Gwinnett County on Aug. 25, 2000, is accused of sexually abusing three teenage boys. However, he was believed to be physically incapable of standing trial because of severe spinal and respiratory problems.

Kramer was released on bond and permitted to travel between Georgia and New Jersey or New York to receive medical treatments or to visit his ailing mother. However, he was required to report his whereabouts weekly and was not supposed to have unsupervised contact with children under 16.

Kramer landed in jail Sept. 15 after police in Milford, Conn., allegedly found him alone in a motel room with a 14-year-old boy. Kramer said he was a guardian of the child, who had a role in a low-budget movie that was being filmed in town, Porter said.

Porter said the first step in the case after Kramer returns will probably be to have his health evaluated by a neurosurgeon to determine whether claims that Kramer is too ill to stand trial are valid. Witnesses in Connecticut reported seeing Kramer walking around wooded areas without a respirator and even carrying camera equipment, Porter said.

Porter said he had his doubts about Kramer’s condition, but didn’t “have any evidence to the contrary until he started hauling around cameras in Connecticut.”