This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The former Southampton youth coach Bob Higgins has appeared before magistrates charged with 65 sexual offences against boys as young as 12.

Higgins, 64, was accused of 63 indecent assaults and two attempted indecent assaults between 1970 and 1996. The court was told the alleged offences relate to 23 boys.

He indicated during a three-minute hearing before Southampton magistrates that he would be pleading not guilty to the charges. He will next appear at Winchester crown court on 16 August.

According to the list of charges, many of the alleged offences involve Higgins touching intimate body parts. Some are alleged to have taken place during massages. Offences allegedly took place in locations including bedrooms, a car and bathroom. The alleged offences are said to have taken place “in Hampshire and elsewhere”.

Higgins, from Southampton, arrived in court with a wooly hat pulled over much of the top of his face and a coat collar fastened tightly across the lower half.

In court he wore an open-necked shirt and spectacles. He had white hair and a beard. He spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth.

The clerk told the court he faced 63 charges of indecent assault between 1970 and 1996 against boys aged under 17 and two attempted indecent assaults against a boy aged under 16 between 1979 and 1983.

She invited Higgins to indicate pleas, explaining he would be convicted if he replied guilty. Asked if he was going to to indicate a plea, he replied: “Yes, not guilty.”

Prosecuting, Dan O’Neill said the case was not suitable to be tried by magistrates because of the age of the alleged victims – 12 to 17 – and the span of time the alleged offences took place in. He added: “They are substantial offences spanning three decades.”

The chair of the magistrates, Alan Foster, agreed he case should be transferred to Winchester crown court. Higgins was granted unconditional bail. The chair reminded the media that the alleged victims should not be named.

Higgins was a coach in Southampton’s junior system in the 1980s and worked as Peterborough United’s youth-team manager from May 1995 to April 1996 as well as running his own soccer school. He was still involved in football, working with adults at Fleet Town, when the police investigation began last year.