Disgraced Navy commander and former head of Queen's bank faces further historic sex charges

Prominent businessman Charles Howeson was convicted last year of indecently assaulting eight young men

Howeson allegedly offered to teach a young boy how to shoot a rifle before attempting to rape him (Plymouth Herald/SWNS)

A disgraced former Navy officer and senior member of staff at the Queen’s bank Coutts has gone on trial accused of further historic sex offences.

Prominent businessman Charles Howeson, who was convicted last year of indecently assaulting eight young men, also attempted to sexually abuse another boy in a field, a jury has been told.

The former Navy commander appeared at Bristol Crown Court where he faced one count of attempted buggery of a boy aged between 14 and 15 during a summer in the mid-1980s.

Howeson, 68, of Plymouth, Devon, also faces an alternative count of indecent assault of the boy. He denies all charges.

Paul Dunkels QC, prosecuting, told the jury of seven men and five women that Howeson stood accused of pushing himself up against the naked buttocks of the boy in a field in Plymouth in the late 1980s.

Mr Dunkels said the man only disclosed this information to his own partner in 2015, who urged him to go to police.

While not able to give the name of his alleged abuser, the information he provided enabled police to identify and arrest Howeson.

Mr Dunkels told the jury the arrest “attracted local publicity” and because of this police learned that a number of other men had made previous claims of being indecently assaulted by Howeson.

The jury were told the men alleged the offences took place when Howeson was a senior officer in the Royal Navy in the mid-1980s.

He also ran the Groundwork Trust charity in the early 1990s.

Mr Dunkels told the jury that Howeson was convicted last December of 10 counts of indecent assault on eight men following a six week trial.

He added this witness couldn’t have known that the person he was describing to police in 2015 was the man who had indecently assaulted others in the 1980s and 1990s.

“[The witness] did not know that this man [Howeson] had a propensity to abuse men in this fashion,” he told the court.

He said the witness gave a video interview to police in which he had a “clear memory” of what was done to him although his recollection “was inaccurate” as to his age at the time and year it is alleged to have taken place.

Mr Dunkels said Howeson did not buy the property the alleged victim believed belonged to the Royal Navy officer until 1987, which suggested the alleged incident could only have happened after this year and not in 1985, as the man recalled.

He also noted that while the alleged victim did not know the name of the man, he was able to identify him “without hesitation” during a photo identification parade which took place in April 2016, nearly 30 years later.

The jury were shown a video interview where the complainant explained how the man in question “started being friendly” with young lads from the nearby naval estate, allowing them to ride motorbikes in the field near his home.

He alleged Howeson offered to teach him how to shoot and took him into the field after retrieving his rifle from his home.

The pair laid down on the grass and began to shoot the rifle, with no indication of anything to follow.

However, after several minutes of shooting he claimed Howeson rolled onto his side up against him before rolling on top of the boy’s back.

Speaking to police, the alleged victim said: “I thought it was a bit odd but I didn’t think anything of it. Then he laid on top of me and put all his weight on me and I couldn’t move.

“He pulled down my trousers and tried to rape me and I couldn’t even move, he was so heavy.

“The second he took his weight off me I squirmed out and took off. I was so naive. I didn’t shout or cry out. I didn’t move. He tried to put his […] in me.

“I didn’t say anything, I didn’t even make a noise when he climbed onto me. It was just a shock. I didn’t expect it in any way. I thought this was not right but I still didn’t think this was going to happen.”

The man said he did not tell anyone until he told his partner two weeks before going to the police in 2015.

He told the officer: “If it was three weeks ago I would never have said anything. I hate talking about it. It’s hard enough talking to my partner who I’ve known since I was 14. It’s only because I’ve spoken to my partner a lot that I can even speak about it now.

“In the years immediately afterwards I thought about it a lot and I was really really angry and dealt with it by drink and drugs and violence.

“I don’t remember thinking about it for years and years and years until this last year. In the last year, everything that’s happened in the news, all about paedophiles has made me think about it.

“About a month ago my partner told me something that happened to her when she was 13. Not similar but close enough to make me really think about it.”

He said the revelation made him think more about this incident which left him “feeling really angry about it”.

He told the detective that for a while afterwards he believed he knew the name of the man, but as time passed by he could not recall.

However, he was adamant about the naval property and that it happened during the summer of 1985. He also recalled the man had dark hair and was “overweight”.

He said he also recalled the man had let him and a friend ride his motorbike which he claimed had been a 250cc Honda Superdream in blue and silver.

He said they were amazed they were allowed to ride this powerful bike around the field, in comparison to their own small 50cc scooters, noting “we were all little kids… it was odd that someone was being friendly to us”.

Howeson denies the charges.

The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.

SWNS