Man from Dursley charged with multiple sexual offences against children

A man from Dursley is due to appear at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on Monday (20 April) after being charged with multiple sexual offences against children.

Following an investigation by Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Child Exploitation team, 48-year-old Philip Anderson has been charged with six counts of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 by touching.

The charges relate to offences which are alleged to have been committed between 2020 and 2024 against six girls at two schools in Gloucestershire where Anderson was employed as a private music teacher.

Anderson has also been charged with two counts of sexually assaulting a female aged over 16 which relate to a girl who was privately tutored at his home studio.

Anderson is on bail with conditions not to have any unsupervised contact, either directly or indirectly, with a child under the age of 18, not to enter or attend any educational establishment where under 18s are present and not to contact, either directly or indirectly, any prosecution witnesses.

Criminal proceedings are active against Anderson and police would like to remind people there must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings, or which leads to victims being identified, as once an allegation is made they are protected with lifelong anonymity.

Detective Inspector Cheryl Godwin from the Child Exploitation team said: “We understand how concerning it can be for parents and carers when someone who is in contact with children, is charged with these types of offences.

“Please speak with your child’s school if you have any safeguarding concerns and if you wish to report something to the police, please do contact us.”

Anyone who has any information relating to the investigation can report it to police by calling 101 or completing the following online form quoting incident number: 402 of 14 April: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/soh/seen-or-heard/

The Survivor Pathway is an online resource for anyone wanting to know more about sexual violence support services in Gloucestershire for both children and adults: https://survivorpathway.org.uk/area/gloucestershire/