A FORMER secondary school teacher from Essex has denied abducting two children and taking them to Africa.
Elliot Furniss
A FORMER secondary school teacher from Essex has denied abducting two children and taking them to Africa.
Dr Emmanuel Forson, of Fronks Road, Harwich, pleaded not guilty to two counts of abducting his sons and taking them out of the UK without the appropriate consent at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday morning.
The 46-year-old denies taking his sons Eamon and Ronald to his home country of Ghana against the wishes of their mother in October last year.
Appearing in Court Four before Judge Christopher Ball QC, Forson spoke only to confirm his name and to enter two “not guilty” pleas.
Forson, dressed smartly in a light grey jacket, checked shirt and tie, had his bail renewed by Judge Ball and a two-day trial was set for next month.
The former Harwich School teacher was accompanied in court by friends from his church but no family members were present for the hearing.
He allegedly took his children out of the country on October 14.
Forson, a maths teacher, is also involved in proceedings before an employment tribunal.
He is pursuing claims, including for alleged racial discrimination, against the school where he last taught in 2007.
The tribunal is set to conclude next month.
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