Australian television star Maggie Kirkpatrick has been charged with historical child sex offences.
The Herald Sun reports that Kirkpatrick, who is best known for her role as Joan Ferguson in Prisoner, has been charged with two counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency with a person under the age of 16.
The alleged crimes date back to the 1980s.
The newspaper further reports that the charges stem from an incident involving a 13-year-old girl who is not connected to the entertainment industry.
Kirkpatrick, now 71, told reporters: “I need to go to court to have this ridiculous situation quashed”.
Maggie played two characters in Home and Away – Jean Chambers in 1991 and Viv “The Guv” Standish from 2003 to 2004.
