A BUSINESS owner in Tendring has appeared in court to deny more than a dozen child sex offences, including one of rape.

Lloyd Prior, of George Mitchell Close, Great Bentley, appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday where he was formally charged with 14 offences, presented to him by Her Honour Judge Cohen.

The charges include four counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, three counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration, three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and three counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place over a nine year period from 2005 to 2014.

An additional charge of rape, which is alleged to have taken place between April 2011 and April 2015, was also presented to Prior.

All the charges have been denied by the defendant.

According to files listed on Companies House, Prior, 35, is listed as the director of a company called Prior Medic after having incorporated the business on Christmas Eve of 2018.

The next hearing into the case will take place in January 2024, and Prior's trial – scheduled to take place in January 2025 – is expected to last eight days.