Man in Wigan court accused of 15 child sex abuse offences

Jonathan Mather, 38, is accused of 10 indecent assaults of a girl aged under 14 and a further five of inciting her into acts of gross indecency with him.

All but one of the attacks is alleged to have taken place in Wigan, the 15th in Blackburn.

Wigan and Leigh magistrates directed that the charges be heard by a judge and committed Mather to Bolton Crown Court.

A date of March 20 was set for a hearing there; in the meantime he was remanded on bail conditional that he does not have any contact with the girl in question, who cannot be identified publicly for legal reasons.