Man for court over Jersey abuse scandal

A 45-year-old man is to appear in court today accused of sexual offences against three boys which relate to a long-running child…

A 45-year-old man is to appear in court today accused of sexual offences against three boys which relate to a long-running child abuse inquiry at a former Jersey care home, police said.

Michael Aubin, from Southampton, is the third person charged with abuse alleged to have taken place at the home in Haut de la Garenne on the Channel Island.

Mr Aubin, who was born in Jersey, was arrested on the British mainland last week and charged with sexual abuse at the weekend, a Jersey police statement said. He is accused with abusing three boys between 1977 and 1980.

He was appearing before Jersey magistrates today charged with one count of sodomy against a boy and two counts of indecent assault against two other boys. Police said more charges could follow.

The home, which closed in 1986, has been the focal point of Jersey police's historical abuse inquiry looking at possible offences dating back to the 1950s.

More than 160 people have contacted police saying they were abused at the house. Of more than 40 suspects in the inquiry, 25 are related to Haut de la Garenne.

Last week, police found children's teeth and bone fragments during searches of one of the four underground chambers in the cellar of the home in the northeast of the island.

So far officers have found six milk teeth and 30 bone fragments, mostly thought to have come from children.

The two men facing charges from the inquiry are Claude Donnelly (68) of St Brelade, and Gordon Wateridge (76) a former warder at the home.

Donnelly is charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault and gross indecency while Wateridge is accused of three counts of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979. The pair, who are on conditional bail, are due to appear again before magistrates on separate dates later this year.

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