A pensioner has denied 30 sexual offences, 27 of them alleged to involve children.

He cannot be named, unless convicted, due to anonymity laws brought in by the Manx Government earlier this year.

The man pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of indecently assaulting a child, nine counts of possessing indecent images of children, two counts of indecently assaulting an adult, and one count of attempting to indecently assault an adult.

The indecent assault allegations are mostly historical and are alleged to have been committed between 2003 and 2015.

They are alleged to involve the touching of a child’s penis and oral sex.

Images allegedly found were said to total 53, with one at level four and one at level five.

The severity of images is measured using the Copine scale, which assesses images from one to five, with five being the most severe level.

Prosecuting advocate Sara Jayne-Dodge said that the case was too serious for summary court and a trial should be held at the Court of General Gaol Delivery, which the defendant’s advocate agreed with.

Magistrates declined summary court jurisdiction and the case will be committed to the Court of General Gaol Delivery on October 3.

A bail application has previously been refused, and no new bail application was made, so the defendant is remanded in custody at the Isle of Man Prison.