Police in Herefordshire have charged the director of a gap-year charity with a number of sexual offences said to have taken place in Kenya.
Police employed rarely used legislation, which allows UK nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for alleged sexual offences committed abroad, to charge Simon Harris of Pudleston, Herefordshire.
The charges were made under Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and are in connection with offences alleged to have taken place against two children in Kenya between 2003 and 2013.
He has been charged with attempted rape between May 2004 and December 2004 and non-penetrative sex in May 2013 on a boy aged between 13 and 15, and a further attempted rape of a different boy under the age of 16 between 2003 and 2004.
The allegations against Harris centre on time he spent in Gilgil, Kenya, where he has since 1981 been the director of the charity VAE, placing volunteer gap-year students and postgraduates from the UK in schools in poor, rural areas.
He also runs an organisation called the Gilgil Trust, which aims to fund social projects in the town and give support to street children. He divides his time between his home in Gilgil – known as the “Green House” – and Herefordshire.
Harris was arrested at his home address on Monday following a joint West Mercia Police and Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) operation earlier this week in the East African state, which is still ongoing.
The operation came about as a direct result of information given to CEOP by a team from Channel 4 News.
The team alerted authorities in the UK after an investigation in Kenya earlier this year, which revealed a number of allegations.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, CEOP Deputy Chief Executive Andy Baker said: “We’re using powers that give us extra-territorial powers beyond the UK.
“So if a UK citizen goes abroad and offends in this way against children – sexual offences – then we have the power to deal with them in this country.
“However, we do feel that it’s better if that justice is dealt with in that country … but we will not shirk from bringing people back to the UK and dealing with them in this way.”
In the 10 years since the Sexual Offences Act came into being, there have been two successful prosecutions against other individuals. This investigation is the first time the relevant section has been applied to a case in Africa.
Harris appeared in Birmingham magistrates’ court on Monday, where he was denied bail. He will next appear at Birmingham crown court on 21 October.
HI.. SIMON HARRIS HAS BEEN A CHAMPION IN HELPING THOSE KIDS IN GILGIL. I HAVE KNOW SIMON FOR MANY YEARS SINCE HE USED TO FREQUENT KEKOPEY PRI. SCHOOL NEAR MY HOME. WHO KNEW HE WOULD DO THAT ??? SUCH A SHAME!!!!!!!!!!! POOR SIMON
Poor Simon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t think so!…how about “got away with this behaviour for years and now has to take the punishment Simon”…
Comments are closed.