AFC Fylde manager James Rowe charged with sexual assault

AFC Fylde’s manager, James Rowe, has been charged with sexual assault and is due to appear in court in November.

The alleged offence occurred last November when Rowe was Chesterfield manager. He left the Derbyshire club by “mutual consent” in February and took over at Fylde, of National League North, the following month.

On Wednesday a Derbyshire Constabulary statement said: “A man has been charged with sexual assault. In January this year, officers received a report of a man having sexually assaulted a woman in Chesterfield, with the offence alleged to have taken place in November 2021. James Rowe, 39, of Breaston, in Derby, has now been charged and is due to appear before magistrates at Chesterfield Justice Centre on Monday 7 November.”

The Guardian has contacted Fylde to ask whether the club will be making any statement.