New evidence delays trial

THE emergence of new evidence delayed the second day of the trial of the former house parent at Haut de la Garenne accused of 19 counts of indecent assault.

Gordon Claude Wateridge (78), who the court heard on Monday was nicknamed ‘the Perv’ by girls at the home, has denied a total of 21 charges and his trial is being held before an Assize jury. The charges relate to his time as a house parent at the St Martin’s children’s home in the 1970s.

However, yesterday the jury heard no evidence after it emerged that the lawyer for the defendant, Advocate Mike Preston, and Crown Advocate Stephen Baker wanted time to examine new evidence.

Initially, the delay was expected to be for the morning session only and the jury of ten men and two women were told by Commissioner Sir Christopher Pitchers that they should be ready to return at 1.30 pm.

However, when they did come back into court for the afternoon they were informed that the lawyers needed more time to assess the new evidence before deciding how to proceed.