Barry Bennell: Football coach jailed for 31 years for sexually assaulting young boys

Judge says decades of abuse of budding footballers was 'sheer evil'

Barry Bennell has been jailed for 30 years for sexually abusing young boys he preyed on while working as a football coach.

The Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Clement Goldstone QC, described Bennell as “the devil incarnate” while passing the sentence.

“Your behaviour towards these boys in grooming and seducing them before subjecting them to, in some cases, the most serious, degrading and humiliating abuse was sheer evil,” he said.

“You stole their childhoods and their innocence to satisfy your own perversion.”

Bennell was convicted of 50 child sexual offences against children as young as eight but many were specimen counts to reflect abuses committed on an “industrial scale” between 1979 and 1991.

The 64-year-old was convicted of offences against 12 boys but another 86 complainants have since come forward, pushing his potential victims over 100.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Bennell used his former positions as a coach for Crewe Alexandra coach and Manchester City scout to abuse the young boys in his care, exploiting their dreams to buy their silence.

Several of his victims attended the trial, cheering from the public gallery when the guilty verdicts were announced last week, and one confronted Bennell during Monday’s sentencing hearing.

Police officer Gary Cliffe, who waived his anonymity, approached his abuser in the glass dock after reading a statement and asked “Barry. Barry. Why?”

Bennell silently looked downwards before officers and ushers intervened to escort Detective Constable Cliffe, of Staffordshire Police, to his seat in the packed public gallery.

He was among four victims who personally read their statements in the witness box, with three others read to the court by by prosecutor Nicholas Johnson QC.

“Not a day goes by without thinking about the abuse I received,” one man said. “I was just a child. I am determined to claim back control of my life and live it to its fullest."

Chris Unsworth, who has also waived anonymity, told how Bennell ”destroyed“ his dream of becoming a professional footballer and another victim called him a “monster”.

Another victim said: "I feel I have never escaped my past and have never learned to cope ... I feel Barry and Crewe Alexandra have completely stolen my life from me.”

A separate account to the court said: “This man took my one and only childhood without a second thought and with no regret or remorse.”

The judge said some of Bennell’s victims blamed themselves for the abuse and have suffered from depression, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts in a “trail of psychological devastation”.

Clapping and cheering was heard from the public gallery as he sentenced Bennell to 30 years imprisonment – half of which will be served in custody – and an additional year on licence.

Eleanor Laws QC, representing Bennell, had said he was on anti-anxiety medication and had undergone operations to remove cancerous tumours from his tongue in 2004 and 2016.

"All of this, we submit, means his time in custody will be less comfortable and more difficult than it would be for someone without all these concerns,” she added, saying he had served a total of 10-and-a-half years in custody over three prison terms but been at large for a total of nine years since 1994.

Bennell has already served three jail terms, including one in the US, since 1995 for similar offences involving 16 other victims.

There is no suggestion that he has committed any offences since the mid-1990s and had undergone a number of treatment programmes while in custody, Ms Laws said.

Bennell used football coaching to abuse boys on tours, at Butlin’s and in his car, while luring them to his homes in the Peak District where he had arcade games and exotic pets including a puma and a monkey.

He had been found guilty of verdicts on 43 counts of abuse against 11 boys who were aged between eight and 15 at the time, including offences of buggery, attempted buggery and indecent assault.

Bennell pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault involving three boys, including a 12th victim.


 Barry Bennell, here being interviewed while a coach at Crewe Alexandra, pleaded not guilty to eight charges 
 (BBC)

While giving testimony, several victims estimated Bennell had sexually abused them on more than 100 occasions, telling one boy that “nobody would believe you” when he threatened to report him.

The defendant, who has changed his name to Richard Jones, admitted having a “grooming process” and being attracted to teenage boys but denied the majority of allegations and accused victims of “jumping on the bandwagon” after victim Andy Woodward went public in November 2016.

Speaking outside the court, Mr Woodward said “no sentence is long enough” for Bennell’s crimes, highlighting how he has never showed remorse or apologised.

Mr Cliffe urged any other victims to come forward, adding: “The hurt is not yours to carry, it is his … we did not forget, we came after you, Bennell.”

Another victim, Steve Walters, said “devious and scheming” Bennell had finally been held to account for his horrific crimes against children.

“The sentence today sends a message to those who abuse children and those who covered it up – the world has changed, he added.

"Truth now has a voice and it will be held accountable and punished accordingly."

Micky Fallon said the sentencing was an important milestone for survivors, who can now move forward with their lives safe in the knowledge Bennell is locked up.

Justice: Micky Fallon, Chris Unsworth and Steve Walters outside Liverpool Crown Court on 19 February (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

"Today we looked evil in the face and we smiled because Barry Bennell, we have won,” he added. “Today we hand our shame and our guilt and our sadness back to you.

“It should never have been ours to carry in the first place. And tomorrow we go forward, united in justice with a growing army of survivors."

Kim Harrison, a lawyer from Slater and Gordon, which represents a number of Bennell's victims, said their clients were relieved but urged authorities to look at the alleged offences that have not yet been prosecuted.

"It is crucial that these crimes are prosecuted to avoid another John Worboys – where survivors are promised that their attacker will be in jail forever, only for them to face the torment of his release,” she added.

"We are calling on the CPS to prosecute more cases against this dangerous man who abused so many young boys, devastating their lives, while all the time peddling a dream of stardom.“

Judge Goldstone said police, prosecutors and complainants must “consider carefully whether there exists at this time a continuing public interest, as opposed to the complainants' private interest”, pursuing new charges.

A spokesperson for the NSPCC said the sentence reflects “the horrors of Bennell’s decades-long campaign of abuse”.

“He ruthlessly preyed on the hopes and aspirations of young footballers who believed he held the key to their dreams and each victim has shown incredible bravery in speaking out about their ordeals,” he added.

“This appalling case underlines how important it is that sport is made as safe as possible for children."

Additional reporting by PA