Pair charged over sex assaults on schoolboys in Hackney

Two men have been charged by police investigating the sexual assaults of a group of schoolboys.

Son Lawrence Paul Ward and Gerard Ward, both 18, will appear in court following the alleged attacks in Hackney, east London on July 8, Scotland Yard said.

Police were called to reports that four boys aged 13 had been assaulted on a footpath on Lower Clapton Road as they were on their way to school.

Son Lawrence Paul Ward, of Chester Road, Edmonton, north London, has been charged with one count of sexual assault on a male.

Gerard Ward, of Elmcroft Street, Hackney, east London, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault on a male and one count of attempted sexual assault on a male.

A police spokesman was unable to confirm whether the two men charged were related.

Both men will appear in custody at Thames Magistrates' Court in London on Saturday.