Barry Bennell Finally Found Guilty2 min read

After more than 30 years of continuous accusations and charges from multiple victims, ex-football coach Barry Bennell has been found guilty of sexually assaulting young footballers at academy level.

Like many historical paedophiles in the entertainment and sports business, investigations to whether the culprit had committed the heinous crimes have been delayed over the decades due to disbelief.

A hearing in Liverpool Crown Court decided that Bennell had sexually manipulated young prospects between the ages of eight and 15 on an “industrial scale”.

The 64-year-old paedophile had been convicted of 36 charges against 10 youth footballers for child abuse.

In the 1980’s Bennell worked as a prolific youth scout and coach for Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, where he would often lure young boys and exploit their innocence for his own disgusting pleasure.

I remember covering this case in my third year of University for a Journalism project due to the fact that back in late November of 2016, four footballers came out into the light to talk about the abuse they suffered.

The NSPCC put up a helpline following the news and almost immediately, calls from footballers over the next three weeks skyrocketed to over 1,700 regarding child sexual abuse.

It’s a shocking figure coming from a nation that holds football as a sport on the pedestal of not only entertainment, but national pride and accomplishment.

The Premier League as well as English football is considered by many to be one of the greatest world wide due to the diversity and development of youth talent.

Football in general is designed for three things; breaking records, uniting people in times of war and most importantly, allowing the youth to dream big.

Boys and girls from all walks of life have dreamt of playing on the big stage and it is because of monsters like Bennell, that these dreams are crushed.

Bennell’s arrest is a victory not only for the victims of his crimes, but for the world of football too.

Hopefully with the closure of this case, more can be done to tackle abuse amongst football staff and players.

Dreams shouldn’t be destroyed by the perversion of others.