Wigan pensioner denies enormous catalogue of historical sex offences

Roy Whittle, of St Clement’s Court off Worsley Mesnes Drive, faces no fewer than 31 separate charges.

The 78-year-old is accused of indecent assaults, gross indecency and sexual activity with under-age boys and men.

The alleged incidents span more than a quarter of century between 1978 and 2005.

Appearing before a Bolton Crown Court judge he pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

Whittle is accused of 10 charges of indecently assaulting a boy.

He also faces three charges of gross indecency and five of buggery with the same boy, as well as one allegation of indecently assaulting the same person as a man aged over 16.

He then faces a further four charges of indecent assault on a second boy as well as four counts of inciting him into sexual activity and three of sexually touching him. Whittle also faces a charge of sexually touching an unnamed boy.

The allegations involving the first complainant span from 1978 and 1987, while those concerning the second youngster are alleged to have happened between 2001 and 2005.

Whittle was bailed until the start of his trial which, because of a legal system backlog caused by the Covid pandemic, is scheduled to begin on November 8 2021.

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