Elder brother of selfies queen Karen Danczuk on rape charges
THE elder brother of Karen Danczuk was yesterday charged with a series of historical sex offences.
Michael Burke, 37, appeared in court accused of 17 offences against three victims, including his sister, the estranged wife of Labour MP Simon Danczuk.
He was charged with 11 counts of rape, five of indecent assault and one of attempted rape between 1990 and 2010.
The security guard was first arrested in February after 32-year-old Mrs Danczuk – best known for sharing revealing photographs of herself online – waived her right to anonymity by giving an interview claiming she had been sexually abused as a child by a ‘family friend’.
At the time of his arrest, the father-of-three dismissed the claims, saying: ‘The allegations are false. I’m just so shocked and disgusted by it all.’ He was held again two months later following ‘new information’ before again being released on police bail.
Yesterday, appearing before magistrates in Bury, his solicitor Zoe Gascoyne said: ‘These are all allegations that this defendant denies and will go to a trial at the crown court.’
Burke, from Rochdale, was released on condition that he does not approach witnesses, lives and sleeps at his home address and has no unsupervised contact with any child under 16.
Prosecutor Shazia Aslam said there was no objection to Burke as he had already been on police bail without incident for the last nine months.
He was ordered to appear before Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court next month for a preliminary hearing and warned that if he failed to attend a warrant could be issued for his arrest.
Former Rochdale Labour councillor Mrs Danczuk became known as ‘the Queen of the Selfie’ after posting numerous revealing photographs of herself on Twitter. But in one interview she explained that publishing the selfies was her defiant response to sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
‘For years afterwards I felt worthless, guilty, as though I had somehow brought this on myself,’ she said. ‘But I was just a little girl. I was on antidepressants for years and wanted to kill myself.
‘I used to cover my body, wear head-to-toe black clothes so I didn’t draw attention to myself. I was so self-conscious. I now know I didn’t do anything wrong. Finally I realise this isn’t my fault. I can have fun without feeling ashamed of myself.
‘And that is why I take pictures and put them on Twitter – because I can. I am now free to do whatever I want.’
Her husband, Rochdale MP Mr Danczuk– with whom she had a public split earlier this year – is a prominent campaigner against child sex abuse who exposed former MP Cyril Smith as a paedophile.
Mrs Danczuk yesterday posted a selfie on Twitter showing off her new gym outfit, writing: ‘Crossover sports bra is amazing & these leggings are great.’
Last night a Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: ‘Michael Burke of College Bank, Rochdale has today been charged with 11 counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape. This is in relation to an investigation into historic sexual abuse of two girls and a woman that took place between May 1990 and March 2010.’