Charge over Jersey abuse

A PENSIONER has been charged as part of an investigation into historic child abuse in Jersey, police said yesterday.

Ronald George Thorne, 71, of St Helier, faces four charges relating to “inciting acts of gross indecency with a boy”, the island’s police force said.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 1983 and 1984.

All the charges relate to the same male child.

Police said the arrest came as part of Operation Rectangle, which looked at suspected abuse at care homes on the island.

The latest arrest is not connected to that children’s home excavated by police last year, a spokeswoman said.

Thorne will appear before magistrates on August 14.