Operation Pallial : Former children’s homes manager denies abuse charges

The former boss of children’s homes in north Wales has appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court to deny 39 charges of historical sex abuse.

During a 50-minute hearing, John Allen, 72, pleaded not guilty as all the charges were put to him, 29 of them alleging indecent assault, and claimed to have happened between 1968 and 1991.

One indecent assault allegation mentions a boy aged four to five in October 1990, along with a girl of 12 in an offence which allegedly happened between 1980 and 1981.

Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, said there were 20 complainants in total.

In a 50-minute hearing, the Judge Merfyn Hughes QC said Mr Allen’s trial might take place in September and could last up to 10 weeks.

He was granted bail and another hearing is due to take place next month.

Allen was arrested by officers from Operation Pallial, in which the National Crime Agency is probing allegations of historical child abuse in North Wales.

So far there have been 19 arrests, but Allen is the only suspect who has been charged.