Barry Bennell

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Barry Bennell Full Name: Barry Bennell Alias: Richard Jones Origin: Manchester, England Occupation: Football coach Goals: Get away with sexually abusing children (failed) Crimes: Child sexual abuse Pedophilia Indecent Assault Buggery Attempted Buggery Type of Villain: Pedophilic Coach

“	Little boy? He wasn't a little boy. He's bigger than me. He's fourteen.	„
	~ Bennell's response when asked if he had anything to say following his first conviction.

Barry Bennell (born January 1954) is an English former football coach. In 1994 he was convicted in the USA of sexually assaulting a minor and sentenced to four years imprisonment. While Bennell was imprisoned, the Channel 4 show Dispatches exposed several allegations of child sexual abuse against Bennell. As a result he was deported back to Britain to face multiple criminal charges of indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery. He was later convicted of more offences in 2015, 2018 and 2020. He is currently in prison.

Biography

Bennell was born in Manchester in 1954. He worked as a football coach at at least four major clubs (Manchester City, Crewe, Stoke City and Leeds United) and from 1992-1994 was head coach at the Staffordshire-based club Stone Dominoes.

Sexual abuse accusations

In 1994, Bennell was on a Stone Dominoes tour to the United States when a teenage player accused him of sexually assaulting him repeatedly. Bennell was arrested in Jacksonville and charged with sexual battery and lewd and lascivious conduct. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years imprisonment. As he was led away Bennell was asked by a reporter "Do you have anything to say to the little boy?". He replied "He wasn't a little boy... he's fourteen".

Two years later in 1996, when Bennell was still serving his sentence in Florida, the Channel 4 Dispatches program highlighted accusations against Bennell and two other UK coaches. The documentary featured interviews with four former players who had gone to the police with claims that Bennell had molested them and other children upon hearing of his US conviction. As a result, Bennell was set free and sent back to the UK, where he was immediately arrested.

Bennell was charged with multiple counts of indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery dating back to the 1970s. He was convicted of 23 offences against six children, including the four interviewed in the documentary (a further 22 charges were left on file as the police thought putting the victims through a trial would be traumatic), and sentenced to nine years in prison.

After being released from prison, Bennell was sent to live in Milton Keynes under the assumed name "Richard Jones". However, in May 2015 he was arrested again and his identity made public after David Lean accused Bennell of molesting him at a children's camp in Macclesfield. He pleaded guilty to the charges and received a two year prison sentence.

On 16 November 2016, footballer Andrew Woodward alleged that Bennell had sexually abused him while working at Crewe. By 21 November six other people had reported Bennell for sexual abuse. On 23 November, Manchester City players David White and Paul Stewart similarly claimed that Bennell and fellow coach Frank Roper had molested them when they were children. Yet more players came forward about their abuse at Bennell's hands over the following months.

Bennell was arrested in regard to these accusations on 29 November. After many more accusations, Bennell was eventually charged with 55 sexual offences against children in June 2017. His trial began on 8 January 2018, at which point he pleaded guilty to seven offences. He was charged with the remaining 48, eventually being convicted of 43 of them and sentenced to 31 years in prison. An appeal against his sentence was rejected.

On 18 May 2020, Bennell was put on trial yet again after eight more victims came forward. He pleaded guilty and received a four year sentence, bringing his total sentence to 35 years. As he was 66 at the time of his final conviction, it is unlikely he will live to be released from prison.