Football sex abuse: Barry Bennell convicted
Ex-coach found guilty of 36 charges including serious sexual assaults against boys aged eight to 15 in the 1980s
A former football coach who worked at a number of England’s leading clubs has been found guilty of multiple sexual offences against boys in the 1980s.
Barry Bennell, 64, was a youth scout and junior football coach for Stoke City, Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra. He was convicted of 36 charges including indecent assault and serious sexual assaults against boys aged eight to 15.
BT says “victims who had been coached by Bennell as boys told how he had a ‘power hold’ over them as they dreamed of becoming professional footballers”. He was said to have been treated like “God” at Manchester City’s Maine Road ground.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During the trial, prosecutors painted Bennell as a “predatory and determined paedophile” who molested young boys on an “industrial scale”.
The Guardian says he “was renowned as one of football’s more successful youth-team coaches and talent spotters” during the 1980s but has since served three prisons sentences in England and the US for abusing underage boys.
More than 240 football clubs have now been implicated in British football’s historic child sexual abuse scandal.
A series of ex-footballers came forward after former Crewe defender Andy Woodward waived his right to anonymity to reveal in an interview with The Guardian he had been a victim of sexual abuse.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
5 simple items to help make your airplane seat more comfortable
The Week Recommends Gel cushions and inflatable travel pillows make a world of difference
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The wit and wisdom of Sven-Göran Eriksson
In Depth The first foreign coach to manage England on football, life and death
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Premier League's spending cap: levelling the playing field?
Talking Point Top clubs oppose plans to link spending to income of lowest-earning club, but rule could prevent success gap from widening
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
2023-2024 Premier League predictions: champions, relegation and golden boot
feature A look at the top flight talking points and pundit picks for the new season
By Mike Starling Published
-
‘Genuine visionary’: is Pep Guardiola the greatest of all time?
feature Spaniard has now won two trebles following Man City’s Champions League triumph
By The Week Staff Published
-
Champions League final: Man City vs. Inter predictions and preview
feature Can Guardiola’s team finally win the Champions League and complete a historic treble?
By Mike Starling Last updated
-
Man City: can ‘one of the best sides in history’ win the treble?
feature Guardiola’s Premier League champions have two more trophies in their sights
By The Week Staff Published
-
Premier League: Man City vs. Arsenal predictions
feature What the pundits say about tonight’s title race showdown at the Etihad
By Mike Starling Last updated
-
Man City’s financial charges: what next for the Premier League champions?
feature The club is alleged to have breached financial rules around 100 times over a nine-year period
By Mike Starling Published