A SCOUT helper has appeared before Preston Crown Court charged with five offences of rape involving young girls.
Michael Drinkwater, 36, of Exchange Street, Accrington, is accused of four counts of rape inolving a 13-year-old girl and another involving a 14-year-old girl.
He is also accused of another serious sexual offence and four of sexual activity without consent.
Many of the offences are alleged to have been committed at Bowley Scout Camp in Great Harwood between March 2005 and January 2006.
Drinkwater was not a Scout leader at the time of the alleged offences, but was a member of the Scouting Fellowship which offers support to the Scouting network.
A preliminary hearing was held at the court and he will re-appear on 25 March.
