Heacham man accused of rape

A 27-year-old Heacham man accused of rape will have his case heard at Norwich Crown Court.

Arron Patrick Bateson is charged with the offence against a female aged 16 or over in Heacham on December 8, 2019.

He is also accused of a separate sexual assault on the same date.

Both matters can only be dealt with by a judge and jury and magistrates in Lynn on Thursday sent them to the crown court for a pre-trial preparation hearing on April 29.

Three other charges will go too – two further counts of sexual assault on a female in Heacham on the same date and gaining unauthorised access to a computer program or data in Skegness between June 1 and November 9, 2019. No pleas were taken on any of the matters.

Bateson, of Hadley Crescent, was granted unconditional bail to the crown court hearing.