KENT MAN IN COURT OVER 'SEXUAL ASSAULT OF DEVON GIRL'
A 33-year-old man from Kent has appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in Devon.Tom Gurney, 33, of Holmwood Road, Tunbridge Wells, appeared at Exeter Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching her sexually.
The alleged offences are said to be linked, with one reported to have taken place on November 6, 2022, and another between March 1 and March 31, 2022.
Due to the seriousness of the allegations, the case falls outside the jurisdiction of the magistrates’ court and must be dealt with at crown court.
Magistrates sent the case to Exeter Crown Court, where Gurney is due to appear for a first hearing on March 20.
He was granted conditional bail.
Conditions include not contacting two specified individuals and not entering a particular address.
Gurney must also avoid unsupervised contact with anyone under 16, except for unavoidable daily interaction or situations formally arranged by social services.
This story was produced via the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Criminal Justice Court Reporting scheme.
