Two men to appear in court over battery of teenage boy in Superdrug store

They face charges of false imprisonment and battery of a 15-year-old boy during an incident in March.

Two men will appear in court in connection to an incident at a Superdrug in Chichester in March this year (PA) (PA Wire)

Two men will appear in court for false imprisonment and battery of a 15-year-old boy during an incident at a Superdrug store in Chichester.

Jake De-Geus, 29, from Chichester and Edwin Hirst, 39, from Fareham, Hampshire, will appear at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on October 24.

The summons comes as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised charges in connection with the incident in East Street, Chichester on March 22, 2023.

Hirst has also been charged with battery against a 16-year-old boy from Chichester.

The charges were authorised by the CPS after receiving a full file of evidence from Sussex Police

David Owen, CPS South East

At the time of the incident, the 15-year-old boy from Worthing, and the 16-year-old were arrested for assault but no charges were brought by the CPS due to insufficient evidence.

A video circulated in March appeared to show a black 15-year-old boy being restrained and handcuffed by two civilian security staff, with one kneeling across his legs.

David Owen, senior crown prosecutor for CPS South East, said: “The charges were authorised by the CPS after receiving a full file of evidence from Sussex Police.

“Criminal proceedings against Mr De-Geus and Mr Hirst are now active, and they have the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”