A Co Down youth football coach has appeared in court charged with sexual offences alleged to have been committed against three young girls.
Standing in the dock of Newtownards Magistrates Court, 36-year-old Paul Allen confirmed his identity and also that he understood the eight charges against him, all alleged to have been committed on dates unknown between 1 June 2022 and 29 February this year.
Allen, from Meadowvale Drive in Bangor, faces two charges each of sexual activity with a child under 18, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, meeting a child following sexual grooming and attempting to engage in a sexual act in the presence of a child.
The offences relate to three young girls, and the particulars of four counts reveal that Allen allegedly incited two of the girls to engage in sexual activity when he was “in a position of trust in relation to the said child”.
Giving evidence to the court, a PSNI officer said she believed she could connect Allen to each of the charges, which was not objected to by defence counsel Conor Holmes.
Adjourning the case to October 17, District Judge Mark Hamill freed Allen on his own bail of £400 with conditions that he has no contact with anyone under 18 “unless approved by Social Services” and also that he is barred from contacting directly or indirectly any of the complainants or witnesses in the case.