A man has been remanded in custody, charged with the murder and sexual assault of a 13-month-old boy under adoption. Jamie Varley, 36, appeared in the dock for a brief hearing at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court, accused of the murder of Preston Davey, who died in Blackpool in July 2023.
Varley is also accused of multiple assaults and cruelty offences, along with indecent image charges. He appeared alongside co-accused John McGowan-Fazakerley, 31, accused of having allowed the death of a child, as well as two counts of child cruelty and one count of sexual assault of a child.
Both men, of Grimsargh near Preston, will next appear at Preston Crown Court on Monday.
Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley are both formerly of Blackpool and now of Chandlers Way, Grimsargh near Preston.
The full charges Varley faces are:
– One count of murder
– One count of manslaughter
– Two counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13, contrary to section 6(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
– Five counts of cruelty to a person under 16, contrary to section 1(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933
– One count of inflicting grievous bodily harm, contrary to section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1863
– One count of sexual assault of a child under 13, contrary to section 7 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
– Ten counts of taking indecent photographs of a child, contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the Protection of Children Act 1978
– One count of distributing indecent photographs of a child, contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the Protection of Children Act 1978
– Two counts of possession of an indecent pseudo image of a child, contrary to section 160(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
– One count of possession of an extreme pornographic image, contrary to section 63(1) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
McGowan-Fazakerley is charged with:
– One count of allowing the death of a child, contrary to section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
– Two counts of cruelty to a person under 16, contrary to section 1(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933
– One count of sexual assault of a child under 13, contrary to section 7 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
All of the charges relate to the same victim.
