Former aide to Duke of Edinburgh denies sex abuse charges

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/05/former-aide-duke-of-edinburgh-court

Version 0 of 1.

A former personal assistant to the Duke of Edinburgh has pleaded not guilty to four counts of historical sex abuse against a young girl.

Benjamin Herman, 79, of Hook, in Hampshire, is charged with three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 13 in the early 1970s, when he was serving as equerry to Prince Philip.

He is also charged with one count of indecency with a child relating to a claim that he incited the same girl to commit an act of gross indecency between January 1972 and January 1974.

Herman spoke to confirm his name and enter not-guilty pleas to the four charges when he was arraigned at Kingston crown court in south London. The judge Georgina Kent fixed a trial date for 18 May next year and extended his bail.

The assaults are alleged to have happened at a house in south-west London used by military personnel, where Herman was living at the time. He was a serving major in the Royal Marines on secondment as equerry, handling the Duke’s private matters and engagements.