
Allan Grimson pleads not guilty to historical sex assault charges
A 65-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to a string of sexual assaults against four teenage men and boys dating back to the 1990s.Allan Grimson, of Hollesley, Suffolk, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court charged with the rape of an 18-year-old man in "Hampshire or elsewhere" and four charges of indecent assault against the same complainant during 1999.He also denied four charges of indecent assault against a second victim, aged under 16, also dating back to 1999, as well as counts of indecent assault against two others in 1994 and 1998.Judge Michael Bowes KC set a further preliminary hearing for 14 July with a trial date set for 1 June next year.
Mr Grimson was not asked to enter a plea on an accusation of taking an indecent photo of the second alleged victim.Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary previously said the offences were reported to have taken place in Portsmouth and Tyne and Wear.
You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer makes his ex-girlfriend read loving texts until she cries
A defense lawyer for hip-hop entrepreneur Sean 'Diddy' Combs had his ex-girlfriend read aloud a slew of loving text messages she'd sent him over the past few years until she broke down in tears Wednesday on the witness stand. The second day of cross-examination by attorney Teny Geragos seemed aimed at supporting the defense position that the woman, who testified under the pseudonym ' Jane,' was a willing participant in the sometimes-weekly sex with male sex workers that Combs directed and watched for hours. Geragos and Jane read aloud dozens of text messages exchanged during a relationship that stretched from 2021 until Combs was arrested last September. At one point, Jane read a text saying she had 'never had a man take care of me like you do' and professing her unending love for the entertainment icon — before Jane stopped reading and began sniffling, then dabbed tears from her eyes with a tissue. After prosecutors objected and requested a sidebar conversation with the judge away from the jury, Jane sat slumped in the witness chair, hair hanging over one side of her face. At the defense table, Combs was quietly reading from one of the TV monitors in front of him. It was the fifth day of testimony for Jane, who has said she still loves Combs. She previously discussed gaining insight into her relationship with Combs after three months of therapy. Jane also said she never wanted to have sex with any man except Combs but did so to please him. At other points on Wednesday, Geragos elicited from Jane that she frequently became angry at Combs and wanted to end their relationship because she got upset that he was treating other girlfriends better. In one instance, Jane acknowledged, the Bad Boy Records founder even bought another girlfriend jewelry that was a matching set to jewelry he had given Jane. Prosecutors say they charged Combs with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy because he used threats, drugs and violence to force women into unwelcome sexual experiences and used his employees and associates to help him get what he wanted. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces 15 years to life in prison. The testimony Wednesday came during a shortened day in the courtroom that began in the afternoon. Geragos said she expected to finish her cross-examination Thursday morning. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, who is leading the prosecution, said the government expects to rest its case as early as next Wednesday. Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo would not outline what will occur when the defense gets its turn to call witnesses, saying that will depend on which witnesses the government still calls to the stand, but he said he was confident the trial will end by July Fourth.


Times
14 minutes ago
- Times
Public will pay price for police funding squeeze, say chiefs
Officer numbers will have to be cut as the public 'pay the price' for the lack of funding for policing in the spending review, police chiefs said. Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to restore neighbourhood policing is 'some way off' they said, after Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced that police funding would increase by £2.1 billion between 2026 and 2029 — an average real-terms increase of 1.7 per cent. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said this would leave a shortfall of £1.2 billion and lead to forces 'cutting headcount to balance the books'. The Police Federation said the public would 'pay the price', while the Police Superintendents' Association (PSA) accused the government of a 'shameful abandonment of the police service'. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, is understood to be planning to review police funding in the autumn, when she will pressure the chancellor for extra money to meet Labour's pledge to recruit 13,000 police officers. Police chiefs said that without extra funding, the money would have to be found through rises in council tax or cuts to other policing services. Gavin Stephens, the NPCC chairman, said the funding rise would 'cover little more than annual inflationary pay increases' and that progress on the prime minister's key missions, such as halving violence against women and cutting knife crime, would be slower. Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said police numbers would fall, adding: 'I remain concerned that this spending review could result in insufficient funding for the Met and fewer police officers.' Starmer's promise to recruit 13,000 neighbourhood police officers was one of Labour's flagship policies in last year's general election. Paul Sanford, chairman of the NPCC's finance co-ordination committee, said: 'While we are looking at a 1.7 per cent increase, once pay is accounted for, once our non-pay pressures are accounted for, we think it will be incredibly difficult for the commitment to deliver the additional 13,000 neighbourhood police officers within this funding envelope. 'We've made some progress. We have a good 3,000 already recruited but based on this settlement, that does look a real challenge for us … Certainly we are going to be some way off unless some significant levers are going to be pulled. Any further progress towards the 13,000 without new money would only come from making savings in our budgets.' Sanford said it was impossible to predict what the neighbourhood policing shortfall would be. Labour's initial announcement said the 13,000 officers would comprise 4,000 police community service officers, 3,000 special constables, 3,000 existing officers and 3,000 new police constables. Stephens added that 'the size and shape of the police workforce will inevitably have to change'. He said: 'The amount falls far short of what is required to fund the government's ambitions and maintain our existing workforce. This is against a backdrop of increasing crime rates, with new and escalating threats from organised crime and hostile states, and more offenders being managed in the community as a result of an overstretched criminal justice system.' Sanford said the overhaul of sentencing laws, which will scrap short prison sentences and release some prisoners after they have served just a third of their sentence, would pile further pressure on police budgets. Additional investment in the Probation Service to monitor offenders would take time to phase in, he said, leaving police to deal with the consequences of more criminals on the streets. 'There isn't any additional money to deal with that. This will increase the workload of police officers.' Tiff Lynch, acting national chairwoman of the Police Federation, accused the chancellor of failing to listen to police officers or the home secretary. She said: 'This spending review should have been a turning point after 15 years of austerity that has left policing, and police officers, broken. Instead, the cuts will continue — and it's the public who will pay the price. 'As rank-and-file officers kit up for night duty this evening, they'll do so knowing exactly where they stand in the government's priorities. It is beyond insulting for cabinet ministers to call on police to 'do their bit' when officers are overworked, underpaid and under threat like never before. 'They are facing blades and bricks, managing mental health crises, while battling to protect their own, and carrying the weight of trauma and financial stress home with them every day.' Nick Smart, president of the PSA, said it was a 'shameful abandonment of the police service' and warned that the government was failing in its first duty of keeping public safe. He said: 'Today's funding announcement is a huge blow to the police service, which has once again been placed at the bottom of the government's list of priorities. It is the first duty of government to keep its citizens safe, yet today we see no evidence of a commitment to doing this. 'Many of the government's election pledges centred around a commitment to 'safer streets', promising the public that it would meet ambitious targets such as halving knife crime. Yet the lack of investment announced today means we will continue to struggle to deliver the basics, to maintain officer numbers, cover inflationary costs, cover pay awards and function as we are, let alone move forward on new public safety and transformation initiatives.'


Sky News
14 minutes ago
- Sky News
Ballymena riots latest: Fire started 'after vandalism' at leisure centre as water cannon deployed in third night of disorder in N Ireland
Disorder has broken out in Northern Ireland for the third successive night, after police said people are "waking up with genuine fear for their lives" following two nights of violence in Ballymena and other areas. Follow the latest.