Father facing assault claim killed himself

A FATHER jumped to his death from a railway viaduct after being accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old Oldham girl.

Anthony Yates (30) was interviewed by Oldham Police under caution last New Year’s Eve following the allegation, an inquest heard.

Jayne Klein told police she heard a “dull thud” and saw a man on the A57 beneath Dinting railway viaduct arches, Glossop, after 11pm on January 6.

She tried to revive Mr Yates while waiting for paramedics, but he had suffered multiple injuries and he was declared dead at Tameside Hospital.

Mr Yates had left a handwritten note and a message on his laptop, indicating suicide. He apologised to his family and maintained his innocence.

Det Con Linda Turner said Mr Yates voluntarily attended Oldham police station and had given “an open and honest account of what happened”.

He was released pending a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service whether to press charges. “I told him I would contact him to let him know what was going to happen,” said DC Turner, of the child abuse investigation unit. “There was nothing about his behaviour that gave me any concern for his well-being.”

The Chesterfield inquest heard that Mr Yates, who worked for Autism Plus in Stockport, was living in Oldham, where the alleged offence happened. He moved into his parents’ home in Glossop following the police interview.

Mr Yates saw his GP on January 4 and got a sick note excusing him from work, with anxiety cited as the reason.

His father, Jeffrey Yates. told the inquest: “He said he had given the girl a massage but she had said it was more than that. I said I was behind him and to give it time.”

Mr Yates phoned his father on January 6, saying he had heard nothing from the police. His father told him to call them.

He phoned DC Turner but was told she was off duty and would call him the following afternoon.

His father felt his son was hit hard by a lack of contact with his own son and partner, and he criticised Greater Manchester Police for not giving his son any support contacts and “leaving him in the dark”.

Deputy North Derbyshire Coroner Nigel Anderson recorded a verdict that Mr Yates took his own life, adding: “There was some misunderstanding by Mr Yates about when police would contact him.”