A former councillor accused of committing child sex offences will stand trial in front of a jury later this year.
William James Kirkbride, 57, appeared at Carlisle Court Court this morning. He faced two charges.
One alleges that he intentionally arranged or facilitated an act that would involve the commission of an offence — namely sexual activity with a child. A second charge alleges that Kirkbride attempted to sexually communicate with a child he is said to have believed was aged 14 “for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification”.
Both charges arise out of alleged incidents which are said to have occurred in the Whitehaven area on October 27 last year.
During a short hearing in front of Judge Nicholas Barker, Kirkbride pleaded not guilty to both allegations. In the dock he had earlier spoken to confirm his name and date of birth, wearing a patterned blue shirt, yellow tie and dark coloured jacket.
Kirkbride — a former councillor who had represented the Harbour ward on Copeland council — was told his trial is due to take place at the crown court in the week of May 3.
He was reminded to co-operate with his legal team in the preparation of a pre-trial statement that sets out his defence to the charges and challenges to prosecution evidence.
In the meantime, Kirkbride was bailed by the judge to live at Queen Street in Whitehaven. In addition, he must not have any unsupervised contact with any child under 18, and must not use the internet to communicate with anyone aged under 18.
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