A group of men accused of a wide range of child sex charges are set to face a trial by the end of year.
The men from across Bolton and Lancashire were all arrested and charged as part of “Operation Pavarotti” a major investigation into child sex exploitation centred around the Blackrod area.
Their case will now be moved from Bolton to be heard before Liverpool Crown Court and will be split over two trials.
Judge Martin Walsh said: “In view of the number of defendants who are due to stand trial, the only court that can accommodate this within a reasonable length of time is Liverpool.”
He added: “There is simply no alternative, given the number of defendants who are due to stand trial.”
The trials will be heard at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)
None of the men set to face the trials were present for the brief hearing that took place at Bolton Crown Court to hear the latest stage in the case.
But set to face the trial in Liverpool include 27-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, 24, of Bolton, denies three counts of sexual activity with a child.
Also standing trial will be 23-year-old Wigan man Cory Barratt denies five counts of rape and two counts of assault by penetration.
Callum Hesketh has pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child (Image: PA)
Richard Haslam, 35, of Bolton, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.
He also denies two counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Blackrod man Jack Poulson, 31, has pleaded not guilty to assault by penetration, four counts of rape and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent.
He also denies 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.
Ross Corley has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child (Image: PA)
Michael Linfoot, 23, of Chorley, has pleaded not guilty to rape, while fellow Chorley man 23-year-old Thomas Rae has also denied rape.
Daniel Flatters, 34, 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.
Prosecutor Timothy Ashmole agreed that the only viable option was to try the men at Liverpool Crown Court.
Two other men have already pleaded guilty to various charges connected with the investigation.
Callum Hesketh, 23, of Chorley, admitted to making an indecent image of a child, in this case a Snapchat video in June 2018.
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But 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 2023.
Hesketh has been electronically tagged and curfewed between 9.30pm and 6.30am and will be brought back for sentencing after the other men’s trials have finished.
Another man, 29-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.
Aside from the curfewed Hesketh, all the men remain on bail under the same conditions as before.
The case will next be heard at Liverpool Crown Court for a pre-trial review on Friday, June 21.
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