Music teacher denies child sexual offence charges
The crimes are alleged to have been committed over a four-year period
A peripatetic music teacher has denied a string of child sex offences and will face trial next year.
Philip Anderson, 49, pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 by touching.
The charges relate to offences which are alleged to have been committed over a four-year period against five girls at two schools in Gloucestershire, where Anderson was employed as a private music teacher.
He also denied two counts of sexual assault which relate to a girl who was privately tutored at his home studio.
Anderson spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas during a hearing at Gloucester Crown Court.
Judge Rupert Lowe fixed a trial date for December 13 2027 and a further case management hearing will be held on October 26 this year.
Anderson, of Dursley, Gloucestershire, was released on conditional bail.