Needham Market: Man Appears In Court Charged With Child Sex Offences

A man has appeared in court charged with 32 serious sex offences after an investigation into historic child abuse in North Wales care homes.

John Allen, 72, is charged with 22 offences of indecent assault, nine offences of buggery and one of inciting gross indecency with a child.

The alleged offences span around 20 years, from 1968 to 1989, and involve 15 youngsters, 14 boys and one girl, aged between seven and 15 at the time.

Allen, from Foxglove Avenue, Needham Market, Ipswich, stood in the dock at Mold Magistrates' Court in North Wales, and spoke only to confirm his name and to say he understood the charges, during the hearing.

No pleas were entered and reporting restrictions were not lifted.

Karen Mullin, prosecuting, said the alleged offences were serious and asked for the case to be transferred to the Crown Court to be dealt with at a later date.

Miss Mullin added: ``Multiple offences, multiple victims and carried out over quite a lengthy period of time.

``Your worships, 32 offences, they are, when taken together, the most serious one can consider.''

Allen had been on bail since April but was re-arrested by police when he answered bail earlier this week and charged with the offences last night.

David Woods, defending, applied for bail for the defendant but the bench refused and Allen was remanded into custody to appear for a preliminary hearing at Caernarfon Crown Court on August 8.