New report details how sexual predators abused children in grassroots sport

Study by Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and Truth Project explores experiences of nine victims between 1950s and early 2010s

Survivors spoke of being subjected to a wide range of sexually abusive behaviour, which was often perpetrated under the guise of a sporting activity (Getty Images)

A new report into child sexual abuse in sport has detailed how coaches and instructors exploited children’s vulnerabilities in order to groom and abuse them.

The study, published by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and its Truth Project initiative, analyses the accounts of nine victims and survivors who played a wide range of sport, including football, boxing and gymnastics, between the 1950s and early 2010s.

It highlights how abuse was conducted at a grassroots level. For almost all the participants, sport was a hobby and, in the case of some, provided a distraction or diversion from a difficult home life.

Survivors spoke of being subjected to a wide range of sexually abusive behaviour, which was often perpetrated under the guise of a sporting activity.

“Say you’d be on any sort of residential trip, they’d be running in showers, taking pictures of the children naked, whilst they were having a shower. And it was all done out of like a laugh and joke,” one participant in the study told Truth Project.

The report also explores how grooming was used to build the trust of those being abused. Gifts and trips away were offered to victims, as were privileges or rewards within the sports club. At the same time, perpetrators sought to normalise certain actions, such as making sexualised comments or showing children pornographic material.

“As much as he was abusing me, he’d then put me in positions of power. So, I’d go to conferences, and he’d turn up and he was going to that conference. You know, always had me in his sights,” a survivor said.

These abuses were allowed to take place due to a lack of supervision and oversight of other coaches and leaders working in the relevant sports, the study found, highlighting in particular the danger of overnight trips with children.

The Offside Trust, which campaigns to keep children in sport safe, believes that predatory youth coaches in football exchanged grooming tactics and shared victims. Authorities were either oblivious to their actions or dismissed concerns raised against them.

Techniques used by Barry Bennell and Gordon Neely, two coaches who abused young footballers between the 1970s and 1990s, share similarities. Both paedophiles would terrorise the children with ghost stories and horror films before attempting to comfort them.

Victims who spoke to the Truth Project also highlighted the extensive impacts of the abuse on multiple areas of their lives, with many describing how decades later this still affects them on a daily basis.

Paul Stewart, a former professional footballer who played for Manchester City and Tottenham, said: “Whist the physical and sexual abuse I experienced as a child in a sports setting was horrendous, for me it was the impact it had in later life. It stripped me of everything – the ability to love and trust, and it also left me constantly thinking of a way out.”

Another survivor said: “It’s horrendous. You carry it with you forever. And it’s like when I switched on and realised that it’s the vulnerability of everything, you know. For the rest of your life you’ll feel vulnerable.”

In February 2018, Barry Bennell was sentenced for total of 50 offences against 12 boys and jailed for 31 years (BBC)

Dr Sophia King, a principal researcher at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, said it was “clear” that the inability to disclose these experiences, as well as the fear of not being believed, acted as a significant obstacle to children reporting their abuse.

“In this report, victims and survivors describe how perpetrators in sports contexts would create opportunities for abuse, which often took place under the guise of sporting activity,” Dr King said.

“Participants’ accounts were examined to provide a more in-depth insight into abuse in these contexts, with many reporting that they were groomed as a way to normalise what was happening.”

Mr Stewart added: “It’s important that survivors have the opportunity to come forward if they wish to do so, and the Truth Project provides that place to share an experience, free from judgement.

“I hope this report can help to contribute to a more open conversation about abuse in sport at all levels, and shines a light on experiences like mine. We need to ensure the words that survivors have shared with the Truth Project are learnt from, and listened to.”

The Independent Inquiry is examining the extent to which institutions and organisations have failed to protect children in England and Wales from sexual abuse. Its Truth Project programme has heard from more than 4,800 victims and survivors.