Barry Bennell abused boys hundreds of times, court told

The former football coach Barry Bennell was a “devious paedophile” who subjected boys from the youth system of Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra to hundreds of sexual assaults and threatened he would end their hopes of becoming professional footballers if they reported him, the opening day of his trial heard.

Bennell, 63, admitted to the police that he was attracted to 13-year-olds because they were “pedigree footballers who were athletes and good-looking” but is alleged to have abused one boy as young as nine.

He had a way of gaining trust among the parents, Liverpool crown court was told, and used his reputation as an influential figure within the sport to groom victims before subjecting them to a sinister hand game called “Follow me” and more serious attacks, including oral sex and buggery. Several boys alleged Bennell had abused them more than 100 times.

Nick Johnson, prosecuting, said Bennell would “soften” his victims by playing horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street when they were staying with him overnight and, on one trip away, one of the boys woke to found a sheep’s head at the bottom of his bed. Johnson alleged that Bennell was deliberately frightening them to make them “more receptive” and that he would often share his bed two at a time.

One boy talked about finding bank notes in his briefs and Bennell’s alleged grooming process also included turning his house into what one of the alleged victims called a children’s “paradise”, featuring a menagerie of exotic pets including a wild cat and a monkey. Bennell gave the boys sports kit and ordered them fast-food takeaways as well as having a pool table and so many gaming machines another boy described the house being like an amusement arcade.

Bennell has admitted seven charges of sexually abusing three boys, aged 11 to 14, but denies 48 other counts relating to 11 boys from 1979 to 1991.

The court heard he had already served prison sentences in England and the US for child sex offences in football but that he claimed to be the “victim of a concerted effort by people from his past”. Bennell’s account was that the complainants were “jumping on the bandwagon and maliciously making up stories … motivated by attention-seeking or the prospect of compensation”.

On the first day of a trial that is scheduled for a minimum eight weeks, Johnson described Bennell as having “an incredible record for furthering the careers of young footballers” and the “reputation among children and parents as a brilliant and influential coach”.

What was not known, the prosecutor added, was that Bennell had a “much darker side” and, while he was promising to turn boys into professional footballers, he was subjecting them to “systematic and persistent sexual abuse” in all manner of places, including trips to Butlin’s in Pwllheli and tours of Wales, Spain and the US, sometimes with his wife or girlfriend in the next room.

On one occasion a youth-team player at Crewe returned to the dressing-room at Gresty Road, the club’s ground, because he had left behind a pair of boots and the jury was told that when he walked through the doors he found Bennell abusing one of the other boys. “Bennell jumped up, clearly surprised and said, ‘What the fuck do you think you are doing?’”

Johnson said: “[Bennell] pinned him against the wall and threatened him that if he ever spoke of what he had seen he would made sure he never played football again.” That was not the only occasion, Johnson said, when a boy was sexually abused inside Crewe’s ground, with one of the alleged victims stating that the club’s youth-team coach was known as “bummer Bennell”.

In one case, Johnson said, one boy left Crewe and told someone what had happened. “He was then sent a letter [by Bennell] on official Crewe Alexandra notepaper asking why it was that he [the boy] was spreading rumours. [Bennell] told him that football was a small world and that trouble-causers did not go far.”

Bennell, who has changed his name to Richard Jones, had previously been involved with Manchester City, even driving a Volvo in the club’s colours. One of the boys he coached alleges he was abused hundreds of times as “the main target” over a four-year period. Bennell said he had looked after one boy “like a teddy bear” and is alleged to have buggered one boy who went to see him to discuss joining City.

The jury was told that, after the “worst day of my life”, the boy threatened to report him the following morning. “It wouldn’t matter,” Bennell allegedly replied. “Nobody would believe you. I’ve got people playing professional football now that I’ve done these things to – you’re nothing.”

In police interviews, Bennell said he was “hurt” by the allegations of one former youth-team player, who he considered a friend, and said he could not fully remember the details relating to another boy because of memory problems related to suffering cancer.

Denying another boy’s claims, he remembered him as a “nice-looking lad … but one who got away with it”. He was also “offended” by the suggestion from one boy that he could smell his coach’s sweat, with Bennell stating he would not go to bed with a boy without showering first. Bennell, who is fed via a tube, appeared via video link because of his health issues but will attend in person if he gives evidence.

The trial continues.

(GUARDIAN)