Brighton pensioner charged with sexually assaulting three girls

A pensioner from Woodingdean has been charged with sexually assaulting three girls over a period of more than 20 years.

Ronald Coggins, 71, of Downsway, Woodingdean, is due to appear on police bail at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9 January.

He has been charged with 12 offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 years old – four offences against each of the three.

The girls were 14 and 15 years old at the time of the alleged offences which are said to have started in the 1960s. The most recent of the alleged offences was said to have happened in 1988.

Sussex Police said: “Charges for one of the victims relate to 1965 and charges in respect of the other two relate to the 1980s.”

The force said that the Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges after an investigation by detectives from Brighton and Hove CID.