Man in court over Jersey abuse case

A 68-year-old man appeared in court today charged with offences relating to a long-running child abuse inquiry centring around…

A 68-year-old man appeared in court today charged with offences relating to a long-running child abuse inquiry centring around a former care home in Jersey.

Claude Donnelly, of St Brelade, appeared at the island's St Helier Magistrates Court accused of one count each of rape, indecent assault and gross indecency.

He is the second person charged as part of an inquiry into alleged child abuse in Jersey dating back to the 1950s.

The police indictment said the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was a 12 year-old girl who was alleged to have been abused between 1971 and 1974.

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Magistrate Ian Christmas granted Donnelly conditional bail to re-appear in court next month. He did not enter a plea.

His alleged offences do not relate to the care home in Haut de la Garenne.

The home, which closed in 1986, has been the focal point of Jersey police's historical abuse inquiry.

Of more than 40 suspects in the inquiry, 25 are related to Haut de la Garenne.

Last week forensic archaeologists discovered bone and two milk teeth after search dogs led them to an area beneath the home in the northeast of the island.

Detectives are still waiting for analysis on a fragment of a child's skull found at the home in February under a layer of concrete.

Search teams have also found blood spots on a stone bathtub in an underground chamber which had been bricked up.

The discovery of the bath corroborated evidence given by people claiming they had been abused in the cellar.

More than 160 people have contacted police saying they were abused at the house.

The other person charged in the inquiry is Gordon Wateridge (76), a former warder at the home, who faces three counts of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979.

Wateridge, who is on conditional bail, is due to appear again at St Helier Magistrates' Court next month.