Ex-Jersey Home Chief Remanded In Custody

The case against a man accused of sexually assaulting girls at a former Jersey children’s home was adjourned for a month yesterday.

Gordon Claude Wateridge is charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 when he was warder at Haut de la Garenne.

The 76-year-old was remanded in custody and will next appear before St Helier Magistrates’ Court on April 14.

Wateridge, who is originally from Croydon, Surrey, did not enter a plea.

The home is at the centre of one of Britain’s biggest abuse investigations with more than 100 people claiming they were assaulted there since the 1960s. The remains of a child were found buried under a stairwell at the former home on Feb 23.

So far Wateridge is the only person to be charged in connection with the investigation, which is focused on Haut de la Garenne but also covers a number of other care facilities on Jersey.

There are thought to be more than 40 suspects in the inquiry as a whole.

Detectives at the scene have uncovered a network of four secret underground chambers and have cleared one where they found a large concrete bath and shackles.