Colwyn Bay, Old Colwyn,North Wales - Ex-police chief in court charged with historic sex offences

Published date: 19 January 2016 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A FORMER police chief charged with historic sex offences has appeared in the dock at Mold Crown Court.

However, the 10 charges he now faces were not put to Gordon Anglesea, 78, a retired North Wales police superintendent.

Judge Paul Thomas QC presided over the case via a live television link from Swansea Crown Court 

Anglesea did not enter any pleas at the request of his barrister Tania Griffiths QC, who said that in doing so she would keep open the option for any application to dismiss once all the evidence had been served by the prosecution.

The judge made a series of orders for the preparation of the case during the half hour hearing and Anglesea was bailed pending an all day pre-trial review and ground rules hearing to be held on May 23.

The provisional trial date remains as September 5 and could last six weeks or more.

Both Miss Griffiths and Catherine Donnelly, prosecuting, said the issue of whether the trial should be conducted by a high court judge would need to be considered because of the nature of the case.

Anglesea was arrested and charged last year by detectives from Operation Pallial, a National Crime Investigation into claims of historical sex offences in the North Wales care home system, and originally faced a total of seven charges between 1979 and 1987.

Anglesea, of Gwynant, Old Colwyn, was charged with three offences of indecent assault and one offence of buggery with a youngster in the Wrexham area between May 1984 and May 1985.

He was further charged with indecent assault and buggery on a second youth under the age of 16 in the Colwyn Bay area between July 1979 and August 1980.

And it was alleged that he indecently assaulted a boy under 16 at Mold between January 1986 and January 1987.

Following his first court appearance Anglesea was accused of three more offences – two charges of indecent assault and one charge of buggery – on one complainant aged 14 or 15 between September 1982 and September 1983.

He has already indicated that he denies all the allegations.

Anglesea was been bailed on condition that he does not contact witnesses.

see-http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/157427/ex-police-chief-in-court-charged-with-historic-sex-offences.aspx