A group of men accused of a wide range of child sex offences have been told to have defence statements ready by the new year.
The men from across Bolton and Lancashire were arrested and charged after “Operation Pavarotti”, a major investigation into child sex abuse in the Blackrod area.
They were among 13 who made their first appearance in court in May this year and were brought back to Bolton Crown Court this week ahead of their trials.
Judge Jon Close said: “I’m going to make a universal order.”
He added: “I’ll say this, its not just defence statements, a case such as this has got to be positively managed.”
Brought into the courtroom together, the men include 26-year-old Ashley Darbyshire, of Westhoughton.
He denies 10 counts of sexual activity with a child, six counts of rape, one count of sexual assault, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of sexual communications with a child.
Harvie Aspden, 23, of Bolton, denies three counts of sexual activity with a child while 23-year-old Wigan man Corley Barratt denies five counts of rape and two counts of assault by penetration.
Richard Haslam, 35, of Bolton, denies three counts of rape, one count of assault by penetration, two counts of sexual activity with a child and another count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Jack Poulson, 30, of Blackrod, has pleaded not guilty to assault by penetration, four counts of rape, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent, three counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of inciting a child to sexual activity and one count of sexual communications with a child.
Brandon Harwood, 24, of Horwich, denies charges of rape, two counts of attempted rape, and two more counts of sexual activity with a child.
Michael Linfoot, 22, of Chorley, has pleaded not guilty to rape.
Daniel Flatters, 33, of Darcy Lever, denies three counts of sexual activity with a child, rape and supplying a controlled drug to another but has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking.
Elliott Turner, 25, of Bolton, has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual activity with a child, while 35-year-old James Fitzgerald, of Bolton, pleaded not guilty to committing assault by penetration.
Thomas Rae, 22, of Chorley, has denied rape but did not appear at the hearing this week.
Judge Close told the men’s legal representatives to prepare defence statements and other materials by Friday January 12 next year.
One of the men involved in the case, 23-year-old Chorley man Callum Hesketh, has already admitted to making an indecent image of a child, in this case a Snapchat video in June, 2018.
He was found not guilty of a second charge of distributing an indecent image of a child after no evidence was offered at another hearing in October this year.
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Hesketh will be brought back for sentencing after the other men’s trials have finished and will be electronically tagged and curfewed between 9.30pm and 6.30am.
Another man, 28-year-old Ross Corley, of Blackrod, has also already admitted to two counts of sexual activity with a child, which took place in 2018, after at first pleading not guilty.
Corley is now set to be sentenced on January 9 2024, unless the prosecution decide this should be delayed until after the other men’s cases are dealt with, which will be split across two trials.
The first trial is set to start on September 23, 2024 and is expected to last around 12 weeks, while the second should start in January 20, 2025 and is expected to last two weeks.
Aside from the curfewed Hesketh, all the men remain on bail under the same conditions as before.
A pre-trial review is set for February 23 next year.
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