A CARLISLE pensioner has appeared before a court charged with child sex offences.
James Richard Kelleher, 82, of Conisburgh Court, Denton Holme, made a brief appearance today before magistrates sitting at the city's Rickergate court.
He is charged with causing or inciting a boy aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual activity between December 1, 2019 and April 30, 2020.
He allegedly did this by giving the child pornographic DVDs.
The defendant is further charged with causing the same child to look at images of sexual activity.
Kelleher faces two further identical allegations.
The final alleged offence he is charged with is exposing his private-parts intending that someone would see them and be caused alarm or distress.
When the allegations were read out to him in court, the defendant's lawyer Jeff Smith told District Judge John Temperley his client would not indicate a plea to any of the allegations at this stage in the case.
District Judge Temperley said that the allegations are so-serious they would have to be dealt with by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court. There will be a hearing there on February 12. In the meantime, Kelleher was granted conditional bail.
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