Barry Bennell: Predatory paedophile football coach guilty of seven more sex offences

Barry Bennell was found guilty of a further seven offences today, having been convicted of 36 other sex crimes on Tuesday at Liverpool Crown Court.

The 64-year-old was on trial under his other name of Richard Jones, which was the name he assumed while he was living in Milton Keynes as recently as 2016.The former Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City youth coach carried out the abuse between 1979 and 1991 in a variety of locations; including at his home addresses, at Butlin’s holiday park, in his car or on football tours.

Bennell pleaded guilty to seven charges of indecent assault before his trial. These charges related to three victims.

Then following the trial, he was convicted of 43 charges at trial, relating to 11 victims. These included 30 charges of indecent assault, 11 of buggery, and two of attempted buggery

The judge at Liverpool Crown Court directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts on an additional three counts of indecent assault.

In testimony, several victims estimated Bennell had sexually abused them on more than 100 occasions, while another said when he threatened to report the abuse, Bennell had told him ‘nobody would believe you’.

Jackie Lamb, a senior crown prosecutor with CPS in Mersey-Cheshire, said: “Barry Bennell is a predatory paedophile who groomed and abused young boys who dreamed of a career in professional football.

“He claimed his accusers were making up stories about him following previous convictions and stories in the media but thanks to the evidence from his victims, the CPS and police were able to build a strong case to expose Bennell’s denials as lies.

“Because of the scale of Bennell’s offending, the prosecution faced a number of challenges, including selecting charges which would adequately reflect the scale and seriousness of what Bennell did. The indictment before the court properly reflected that offending and will allow the court to sentence appropriately.

“I would like to pay tribute to the victims who have come forward to give evidence against him and I hope this outcome gives them some sense of justice being done after so many years.”

Bennell will be sentenced on Monday. He has already been jailed three times for sex offences.