Man arrested and charged with sexual offences following incident in Liverpool City Centre

We have arrested and charged a man with sexual offences following an incident in Liverpool on Tuesday night, 11 February.

At around 11.50pm, we were called to the report of a man with a young girl in McDonalds on Blundell Street. Officers traced the man to a location near to the Strand, where he was detained. The girl was found safe and taken for appropriate safeguarding measures.

33-year-old Darren Jones-Bond of Eastbank Street in Southport has now been charged with two counts of sexual activity with a girl under 13.

Jones-Bond was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court this morning, Thursday 13 February.

Detective Inspector Gavin Mulcahy said: “We have a specialist team who are committed to dealing with such allegations, who will respond to incidents and any other information that comes in.

"If you have suspicions about young people who are seemingly at risk please call police straight away. We can make an assessment and take the necessary action.

“Call 999 if you suspect such an incident is in progress, or pass any other information via 101, @MerPolCC on social media, or anonymously via 0800 555 111."

You can also visit https://www.listentomystory.co.uk/ which is a campaign to raise awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation, where parents, teachers, carers and young people can learn about potential warning signs.