LONDON (Reuters) - Former soccer coach Barry Bennell was found guilty of multiple sexual offences against boys in the 1980s, British media reported on Tuesday.

The 64-year-old, who was once a talent spotter at Crewe Alexandra and a coach at Manchester City, was convicted of 36 charges including rape and indecent assault by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court.

The BBC reported the jury had failed to reach verdicts on seven counts and would continue discussions on Wednesday. It said the judge directed them to find Bennell not guilty on three other counts.

Bennell was charged in November 2016 after prosecutors received a file of evidence from Cheshire Police, the force in charge of the area of northwest England where Crewe Alexandra are based.

Bennell, who had denied 48 alleged offences between 1979 and 1990 relating to 11 complainants, chose not to give evidence in his defence during the month-long trial and appeared by video link from prison due to illness.

He had pleaded guilty before the trial started to seven counts of indecent assault involving three boys.

Allegations of child sex abuse in English soccer from the 1970s through to the 1990s have shocked Britain and led to deep soul-searching in the game amid fears hundreds of young boys might have been involved.</s>LONDON: Former soccer coach Barry Bennell was found guilty of multiple sexual offences against boys in the 1980s, British media reported on Tuesday.



The 64-year-old, who was once a talent spotter at Crewe Alexandra and a coach at Manchester City, was convicted of 36 charges including rape and indecent assault by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court.

The BBC reported the jury had failed to reach verdicts on seven counts and would continue discussions on Wednesday. It said the judge directed them to find Bennell not guilty on three other counts.

Bennell was charged in November 2016 after prosecutors received a file of evidence from Cheshire Police, the force in charge of the area of northwest England where Crewe Alexandra are based.

Bennell, who had denied 48 alleged offences between 1979 and 1990 relating to 11 complainants, chose not to give evidence in his defence during the month-long trial and appeared by video link from prison due to illness.

He had pleaded guilty before the trial started to seven counts of indecent assault involving three boys.

Allegations of child sex abuse in English soccer from the 1970s through to the 1990s have shocked Britain and led to deep soul-searching in the game amid fears hundreds of young boys might have been involved.</s>Paedophile football coach Barry Bennell is facing years in jail after being found guilty of the “industrial scale” sex abuse of young boys.

Bennell, 64, was convicted of 27 ­indecent assaults and nine serious sex attacks on 10 children as young as eight between 1979 and 1990.

Some of his victims sat sobbing in the court’s packed public gallery as the verdicts were handed down today.

The pervert, appearing via video link from prison , seemed to mutter to himself and sat shaking his head.

Today the jury of six women and five men will consider verdicts on seven outstanding charges. Before the trial started Bennell, who has changed his name to Richard Jones, had admitted seven indecent assaults on three boys.

He has already spent three previous spells in jail after receiving a total of 15 years for attacks on 17 boys – the first a four-year term handed to him in 1995 in the US.

His trial at Liverpool crown court heard how four footballers previously coached by Bennell had later killed themselves, including Wales legend Gary Speed. Dad-of-two Gary was found dead at home in 2011, aged 42. But the jury was told there was no evidence linking any of the deaths to Bennell.

The former Manchester City scout, who prosecutors compared to the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, targeted talented schoolboys who dreamt of a career in football.

He abused them in his home, which was filled with arcade games, a pool table, videos and exotic pets including a puma and a monkey.

Attacks were also carried out in his car and at a Butlin’s holiday camp.

Prosecutor Nicholas Johnson QC said Bennell had a “particular predilection” for “pre or peri-pubescent boys”.

The prosecutor said he lost interest when the boys reached puberty, telling police in an interview he was attracted to 13-year-olds because they were “pedigree footballers who were athletes and good-looking”.

In his closing speech he branded Bennell a “child molester on an industrial scale”.

Bennell, who had been living in Milton Keynes, Bucks, had claimed the complainants in the case were “jumping on the bandwagon” following publicity. He chose not to appear in the witness box and no evidence was called by the defence.

The jury return to court to continue their deliberations today. The Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Clement Goldstone QC, said he would accept verdicts 10 or more of them were agreed on though “we will invite you to endeavour to reach unanimous verdicts”.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption February 2018: Chris Unsworth, Micky Fallon and Steven Walters

Three of Barry Bennell's victims have told how he turned their dreams into a "horrendous nightmare" after the former youth football coach was convicted of 43 sex assaults on boys.

Bennell, who worked at Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, was found guilty of abusing 11 boys aged eight to 15.

Speaking outside Liverpool Crown Court, another victim, Andy Woodward, said "justice has been served".

It is understood 86 others have come forward to say they were victims.

The jury, which deliberated over five days, had been told of Bennell's abuse of 12 boys between 1979 and 1990.

Before the case he admitted seven charges of indecent assault on three boys, two of whom were also part of the allegations he was tried on.

He was found guilty of 36 charges on Tuesday, and a further seven counts on Thursday.

Bennell, who is now known as Richard Jones, appeared in court via videolink during the five-week trial due to illness.

He could be seen shaking his head and muttering when the final guilty verdicts were returned by a 10-1 majority.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Barry Bennell told police interviewers: "I always thought I was brilliant."

He will be sentenced on Monday and will be produced from custody to attend the hearing.

It was the fourth time Bennell had been convicted of abusing boys.

The jury was told he had previously received jail sentences in the UK and in the US in 1995, 1998 and 2015.

'Innocence shattered'

The latest police investigation began in November 2016 when Andy Woodward gave interviews about his experiences to the Guardian and BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

Speaking outside court after the verdict, the ex-Crewe defender said: "Justice has been served today and people will be able to move on with their lives including myself."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Andy Woodward says 'justice has been served'

Mr Woodward said he believed "the football clubs that were accountable for this... could have stopped this for so many years... And I think now's the time that that comes sort of out.

"And I would personally like after 15 months, an apology from Crewe Alexandra for what happened to us boys."

Ex-Manchester City youth player Chris Unsworth, who was abused by Bennell when he was a scout at the club, stood alongside Micky Fallon and Steve Walters as he read a statement.

The three men are supporters of the Offside Trust, which was set up by ex-professional players to support abuse survivors.

Mr Unsworth said: "We stand before you today as men united in justice, but this is about so much more than us."

Mr Fallon, who was targeted by Bennell at Crewe, said: "We stand before you today as men united but, at the same time, we were very young boys. We were little boys with a dream and our innocence was shattered. Our dreams turned into the most horrendous nightmare."

Image caption Bary Bennell could be seen shaking his head and muttering when the final guilty verdicts were announed

Prosecutors described Bennell as a "predatory paedophile" who abused boys on an "industrial scale".

They told the trial he had a "power hold" over the aspiring professional players.

Boys were abused at his home - including a property in Derbyshire where he had arcade games and a puma and a monkey - on trips away, and in his car on the way to and from training, they said.

Det Insp Sarah Oliver, who led the investigation, said Bennell had betrayed the trust of the young players.

"As a football coach he should have provided nothing more than safety and support for the players in his care," she said.

"Instead he abused them. He also abused the trust of their families who had placed them into that care so they could pursue their dreams of being professional footballers. He has shattered those dreams and left them burdened for decades."

Club launches review

In a statement, Crewe Alexandra expressed its "deepest sympathies" to Bennell's victims and said it worked closely with the police investigation.

It added it was was not aware of any sexual abuse by Bennell or had received any complaint before or during his employment with the club.

Image copyright Facebook Image caption Bennell worked for Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City's youth teams

Manchester City offered "heartfelt sympathy to all victims for the unimaginably traumatic experiences they have endured".

The club said it was keen to speak to any survivor or witness to sexual abuse which might be connected to Manchester City or which could support a review it launched after the latest allegations were raised in 2016.

It added its review also identified serious allegations of child sex abuse in respect of a second man with "potential historic connections to the club". The man is now dead and is not believed to be linked to Bennell.

The Football Association said it acknowledged the "traumatic experience" of Bennell's victims "and the bravery they have shown in coming forward".

It said an independent inquiry into allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in football had been set up and also urged victims and survivors to contact police "if they are ready to do so".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Barry Bennell told police how he groomed young boys

Bennell chose not to offer any evidence or witnesses in his defence and had told police he was suffering from cancer, which in turn had caused memory problems.

His barrister accused the complainants of inventing stories about him and "jumping on the bandwagon".

During the trial, the judge, Recorder of Liverpool, Clement Goldstone QC, had directed the jury to find Bennell not guilty on three charges of indecent assault.</s>LONDON (Reuters) - Former soccer coach Barry Bennell was found guilty of multiple sexual offences against boys in the 1980s, British media reported on Tuesday.

The 64-year-old, who was once a talent spotter at Crewe Alexandra and a coach at Manchester City, was convicted of 36 charges including rape and indecent assault by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court.

The BBC reported the jury had failed to reach verdicts on seven counts and would continue discussions on Wednesday. It said the judge directed them to find Bennell not guilty on three other counts.

Bennell was charged in November 2016 after prosecutors received a file of evidence from Cheshire Police, the force in charge of the area of northwest England where Crewe Alexandra are based.

Bennell, who had denied 48 alleged offences between 1979 and 1990 relating to 11 complainants, chose not to give evidence in his defence during the month-long trial and appeared by video link from prison due to illness.

He had pleaded guilty before the trial started to seven counts of indecent assault involving three boys.

Allegations of child sex abuse in English soccer from the 1970s through to the 1990s have shocked Britain and led to deep soul-searching in the game amid fears hundreds of young boys might have been involved.</s>Disgraced former football coach Barry Bennell has been found guilty of three more sex offences against young boys during the 1980s.

The ex-Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra youth coach had already been found guilty of 36 charges on Tuesday, and the BBC has reported that the 64-year-old has now been handed another trio of offences as the trial against him at Liverpool Crown Court continues.

The trial's jury had been deliberating on the three of the final seven outstanding charges brought against Bennell over the past 48 hours, and a majority verdict has now been carried out on those after much discussion.

Bennell, who has appeared via video link over the five-week trial due to illness, was alleged to have sexually and indecently assaulted 10 victims over 30 years ago despite claims to the contrary.

He was quoted as having a 'power hold' over aspiring young footballers between the ages of eight and 15, and had been deemed a 'predatory and determined paedophile' by the prosecution.

The young boys in question were abused at Bennell's home, which they were lured into staying at by Bennell's plethora of video games and exotic pets.

(You may also be interested in Former Football Coach Barry Bennell Found Guilty of 36 Counts of Sex Abuse Against Boys)



Bennell, who now goes by the name Richard Jones, also managed to make the parents of his victims consent into allowing the boys to stay at his home as part of their footballing education.

He was also said to have been treated like 'God' at City's former Maine Road stadium and has already been jailed three times for previous sexual offences against other victims.

Bennell has failed to provide evidence in his defence against the accusations, but shook his hand and muttered to himself after Tuesday's verdicts were passed.

The judge sitting on the trial has told the jury that the remaining four charges brought against Bennell, by an 11th complainant, will be accepted if they reach a majority decision over the outstanding offences.</s>Barry Bennell has been found guilty of 43 charges of historical child sexual abuse. His conviction is the first since allegations of sexual abuse in football began to surface in 2016. So who is he?

A junior football coach and youth scout, Barry Bennell was a man who boasted he could find professional football clubs the next young star.

He was described as a "pied piper" who told young footballers he could help make their dreams come true.

In fact, the 64-year-old was a prolific sex offender and a predatory paedophile who preyed upon young boys who were dreaming of a career in football.

He repeatedly abused boys - some up to 100 times - while promising to further their careers.

Bennell is now facing his fourth prison sentence for child sexual abuse.

Once a youth player at Chelsea, Bennell was later associated with a number of clubs, most notably Crewe Alexandra - a small town football club famed for developing talented young players.

Bennell worked there in the 1980s and 1990s.

However, he also boasted of a close association with Manchester City, and was linked to a number of junior teams in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

He would scout boys across the North West and the Midlands. One victim said he had a reputation as the best youth coach in the country.

Bennell also ran summer holiday camps in the UK - often held at Butlins - as well as youth football tours and "soccer camps" in the US.

Indeed it was in the US that his crimes first came to light.

In 1994, police in Jacksonville, Florida, charged him with sexually abusing a 13-year-old British boy on a tour. The trip reportedly involved young footballers aged 11 to 14.

According to a court report published in the Birmingham Mail at the time, Bennell was arrested after the boy returned home from a camp and told his parents he had been abused.

Bennell was sentenced to four years in a US prison.

American police described him as a man with an "insatiable appetite" for young boys.

"He did the con job of all con jobs," Bob Bowers, chairman and founder of the team Bennell had been coaching, told the Daily Mail, more than 20 years later.

"He mesmerised people in terms of his football skills.

"It was like watching a circus master at work. But we were all looking at the football. We weren't conscious of the darker secret."

Bennell's conviction in the US shone a light on his crimes at home.

He was the subject of a Channel 4 Dispatches programme - called Soccer's Foul Play - which aired in the UK in January 1997.

Witnesses told how he promised clubs he could find them talented, young players.

Deborah Davies, the journalist behind the documentary, said a director at Manchester City described Bennell as "a starmaker".

One of the men who featured in the programme was Ian Ackley, an ex-footballer, who waived his anonymity to reveal how he had been repeatedly raped by Bennell.

In a later interview with the Times, published in November 2016, Mr Ackley said the abuse began when he was invited to stay at Bennell's house in the Peak District.

As well as nights away at weekends and during school holidays, he also attended football tours and camps run by Bennell.

Mr Ackley said Bennell raped him more than 100 times between 1979 and 1983.

Bennell was arrested by British police after he was released from prison in Florida.

He was sentenced to a further nine years in prison at Chester Crown Court in 1998, having pleaded guilty to 23 specimen charges, all relating to offences committed in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

A further 22 allegations were left to lie on his file.

His third conviction came in 2015, also at Chester Crown Court.

Bennell pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and two counts of enticing a boy under the age of 14 to commit an act of gross indecency, dating back to 1980.

He was jailed for two years.

'Never spoke about it'

The latest police investigation began after Andy Woodward, an ex-Crewe, Sheffield United and Bury footballer, spoke publicly about the abuse he had suffered to the Guardian newspaper, in 2016.

Bennell had scouted Mr Woodward, who was then aged 11, while he was playing for Stockport Boys.

He told the paper he was one of the "hundreds of children who Barry Bennell cherry-picked for various football teams".

Mr Woodward said that within "three or four weeks" of being scouted he had been invited to stay at Bennell's home.

"When you walked through the door there were three fruit machines. He had a pool table. There was a little monkey upstairs in a cage who would sit on your shoulder.

"He had two Pyrenean mountain dogs. He even kept a wild cat."

Mr Woodward said he suffered sexual abuse for four years.

Fellow footballers Steve Walters, Chris Unsworth and Jason Dunford then came forward, speaking of abuse they had suffered.

Mr Unsworth said he had stayed at Bennell's house several times, saying he sometimes had two or three boys in a bed at once.

"We never spoke to each other about it," Mr Unsworth told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

The allegations prompted dozens of police forces to launch investigations, while the Football Association and football clubs including Manchester City and Crewe, also launched inquiries.

On 28 November 2016, Bennell was taken to hospital after being found unconscious at an address in Knebworth, Hertfordshire.

The following day he was charged with five counts of indecent assault on a boy, two counts of inciting a boy to commit an act of gross indecency and one count of assault with intent to a serious sexual assault.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received a file of evidence from Cheshire Police relating to allegations of abuse committed between 1981 and 1985, when the victim was under the age of 15.

Bennell, who was remanded in custody, denied the charges.

He was eventually charged with 55 offences of abuse - including serious sexual abuse - involving 12 complainants, aged 8 to 15.

The alleged offences were committed between 1979 and 1991.

At the beginning of his trial, Bennell pleaded guilty to seven offences, relating to three boys aged between 11 and 14.

The jury was directed by the judge to deliver not guilty verdicts on three charges and two other charges were alternatives and were dropped.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he was a "child molester on an industrial scale".

He had preyed upon boys who "cared only about one thing - becoming a professional footballer".

"Many would do anything to achieve their dream," the prosecutor in the case said. "Barry Bennell knew that and he exploited that."

Following a five-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court a jury of five men and six women found him guilty of 43 offences.

Bennell will be sentenced on Monday.</s>Victims of twisted football coach Barry Bennell have launched a number of damages claims against clubs including Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra.

Bennell, who was convicted of 43 sex abuse charges and will be sentenced on Monday, coached a number of junior boys' teams in the early to mid 1980s.

After providing a number of youth recruits for City, he joined the coaching staff at Crewe between 1985 and 1992.

His trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard evidence he was widely revered in the football world for his advanced coaching skills which were "far ahead" of his contemporaries.

However, the outwardly flashy, charming Bennell used both clubs as vehicles to groom and manipulate pre-pubescent boys before sexually abusing them.

One of Bennell's victims said he was targeted "straight away" in Bennell's Mercedes car when he started to give him lifts to and from City's then training ground at Platt Lane.

Like many other victims, he was then abused at Bennell's home address as boys regularly stayed there overnight.

Bennell was said by another complainant to have been treated like "God" at City's Maine Road stadium.

Jurors also heard from a third complainant that he thought City officials Ken Barnes and Mike Grimsley had known Bennell was targeting boys.

Mr Grimsley, a youth team coach, and the family of chief scout and ex-player Mr Barnes, who died in 2010, have said they were unaware of any abuse.

Mr Barnes previously confirmed to Channel 4 documentary series Dispatches - Soccer's Foul Play broadcast in January 1997 - it had received a complaint about boys staying in Bennell's room at a holiday camp.

The programme also reported then Crewe chairman Norman Rowlinson had concerns about Bennell - who he said had "a certain magnetic attraction with boys, like the Pied Piper" - and contacted City.

Mr Barnes told Dispatches: "He said we've had one or two reports about him ... mucking about with kids or something like that

"I said 'no, I can't help you really because I have no evidence whatsoever from that side of the fence'."

In November 2016, former Crewe director Hamilton Smith told The Guardian the club had received an allegation that Bennell abused a junior footballer.

He said senior officials including the late Mr Rowlinson had contemplated sacking Bennell but concluded there was not enough evidence. Instead, it was decided he should not be left alone with boys and that overnight stays at his home would stop, he said.

Jurors in Liverpool heard one complainant told police he grew up thinking Crewe director of football and ex-manager Dario Gradi "saved" him when he suddenly stopped him staying at Bennell's house.

Asked what was the reason given, he replied: "I have no idea. All I can remember is it just stopped. I grew up thinking Dario saved me from Barry. I never stayed there again."

The trial also heard a police interview with Bennell in which he said boys who were playing for Crewe would stay over with him or with Gradi.

He said the plan was "to save money and to make sure the kids weren't in a strange bed and breakfast".

Bennell said his relationship with Gradi was "fantastic" but he said the manager "didn't know anything" about Bennell abusing boys.

He said: "He loves kids but he wouldn't cross that line."

Gradi has previously stated that no-one at the club was aware of Bennell's crimes until he was arrested in the US in 1994 and then first prosecuted.

He is currently suspended from football by the Football Association (FA), which is conducting an independent review of historical child abuse in the game from the 1970s up to 2005.

Both League Two outfit Crewe and Premier League table-toppers Manchester City are conducting their own investigations.

The court heard three former junior footballers are suing Manchester City while one is planning to sue Crewe and the FA for damages.

Three other complainants in the current trial have sought legal advice on a potential compensation claim for injuries and losses.

Kim Harrison, a specialist abuse lawyer from Slater and Gordon, which represents a number of Bennell's victims, said: "This prolific and manipulative paedophile systematically abused vulnerable boys to satiate his own warped desires.

"Like so many sex offenders before him, Bennell abused his position of power to commit his heinous crimes. But in many ways Bennell had more power than most paedophiles, as he was in a position to make or break his victims' dreams. He played God with their careers and their lives.

"Serious questions need to be asked about how this dangerous rapist was allowed to carry out years of abuse on so many young boys in plain sight, much as Savile did at the BBC. Our clients are relieved that he has been found guilty today and I hope it helps many start to rebuild their lives."</s>A former English youth soccer coach was convicted of 43 charges of sex abuse against 11 young players in a trial that detailed how he shattered the trust of boys who dreamed of becoming professionals.

Barry Bennell was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of seven charges of sexual abuse, adding to 36 from Tuesday at Liverpool Crown Court.

The abuse occurred during his time working for northwest clubs Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, among others, from 1979 to 1990.

The 64-year-old Bennell will be sentenced on Monday. He has previously received three jail sentences for offences against children.

Appearing in court via video-link for health reasons, Bennell shook his head as the latest guilty verdicts were read out. There were hushed roars of "yes" by complainants in the court room.

"For decades, we held our silence, just like our abuser told us," Micky Fallon, one of the victims, said outside court.

"For decades we lived in fear. Today, the stolen voices of a generation have been heard."

Before the trial, Bennell pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault involving three boys. It means that, in total, he faces 50 convictions.

"Manchester City FC offers its heartfelt sympathy to all victims for the unimaginably traumatic experiences they have endured," City, the current leader of the Premier League, said in a statement.

"No one can remove their suffering or that of others who suffered sexual abuse as children as a result of their involvement with football.All victims were entitled to expect full protection from the kind of harm they endured."

City investigated whether the club facilitated sexual abuse of children, and it identified serious allegations against two people: One of them was Bennell, the other was deceased.

During an often harrowing trial, boys coached by Bennell told the trial how he had a power hold over them as they dreamed of becoming professional players. They were abused at Bennell's home - described by one complainant as a "paradise" for young boys with a pool table, fruit machine, big televisions, and unusual pets - as well as on the way to matches and in changing rooms.

The prosecution said Bennell was a "child molester on an industrial scale."

Another of those abused, Steven Walters, questioned how those in authority allowed Bennell to operate.

"For years, hundreds and hundreds of us were groomed in plain view, lavished with gifts and designer sports gear and taken on trips all round the world," Walters said outside court. "How can it be that no one realized something was wrong? How was it that no one protected us?

"We suffered because of a disgusting predator, but we also suffered sometimes because the sport we love decided that the reputation of a coach, a club or a sport was put above the protection of children."

The judge told Bennell, who had part of his tongue removed due to cancer, that he must be taken out of custody and attend the sentencing hearing.</s>Serial paedophile Barry Bennell has been convicted of abusing more young footballers after grooming them with claims that he could fulfil their dreams of a career in the sport.

The 64-year-old, who has previously received three jail sentences for similar offences, was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of 43 counts of child sexual abuse against 11 victims.

It is understood the total number of victims assaulted by Bennell could exceed 100 after 86 more people came forward to report abuse following publicity about the case.

A cheer of "yes" came from the public gallery where six complainants sat with family members as the final verdicts were read out and some people were in tears.

Bennell, who appeared via videolink from prison, could be seen shaking his head at times and muttering when the final guilty verdicts were returned on Thursday.

Bennell had coached and worked at Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City. in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The court heard he used both clubs as vehicles to groom and manipulate pre-pubescent boys before sexually abusing them.

During the course of his trial, he was described as a "child molester on an industrial scale" who would not just groom his victims, but also their families.

Victims who had been coached by Bennell as boys told how he had a "power hold" over them as they dreamed of becoming professional footballers.

He was said to have been treated like "God" at Manchester City's Maine Road ground.

He abused the boys at his homes, where he had arcade games and exotic pets including a puma and a monkey, but also on trips away and in his car while on the way to and from training.

One victim, who he had admitted abusing in 1998, said he knew of four men who had been coached by Bennell, including former Wales manager Gary Speed, who had gone on to take their own lives.

It was said in court that there was no known link from Bennell to the suicides.

During the trial, the court has heard Bennell, 64, compared to the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Three of Bennell's victims, Mickey Fallon, Chris Unsworth and Steve Walters, read emotional statements outside court.

Mr Fallon said: "We stand before you today as men united in justice, united under the banner of the Offside Trust - the organisation that's set up by survivors for survivors, by players for players.

"We stand before you today as men united but, at the same time, we were very young boys.

"We were little boys with a dream and our innocence was shattered.

"Our dreams turned into the most horrendous nightmare."

Bennell will be sentenced on Monday and will be produced from custody to attend the hearing, the judge told the jury as he discharged them.

In his closing speech, Nicholas Johnson QC, prosecuting, said: "We suggest Mr Bennell is a child molester on an industrial scale and that's why he went to these lengths to get so many lads round to his house."

In transcripts of police interviews which were read in court, Bennell, who has changed his name to Richard Jones, told the police about his grooming process and abuse of boys, but claimed the complainants in the case were "jumping on the bandwagon" following publicity.

He chose not to appear in the witness box and no evidence was called by the defence.

"Crewe Alexandra would like to express its deepest sympathies to the victims of Barry Bennell. The club would like to reassure all those who have been affected by this case that the club has worked closely with the police throughout and provided full cooperation, transparency and assistance with their enquiries. The club will continue to provide that cooperation as and when required. Since November 2016 the club has dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to locating historic information and documentation about Mr Bennell, both in connection with the preparation of its own internal review and the provision of information and documentation to the relevant authorities. This documentation includes voluminous files relating to an unsuccessful compensation claim brought by Andy Woodward against the club in 2002 in which the Court found no evidence that the club had knowledge of any abuse committed by Mr Bennell. The club would therefore like to reiterate that it was not aware of any sexual abuse by Mr Bennell, nor did it receive any complaint about sexual abuse by him, either before or during his employment with the club. Mr Bennell was employed by the club for two periods between January 1985 and January 1992. On both occasions, he left for football-related reasons. The first the club became aware of any offences committed by Mr Bennell was when he was arrested in the United States in 1994. The club co-operated fully with the police investigation in relation to the prosecution of Mr Bennell in 1997/98. The club also cooperated fully in the production of the Dispatches programme that was broadcast around that time. Further, the police have recently undertaken a thorough investigation to determine what knowledge Crewe Alexandra may have had of Mr Bennell's offending whilst he was employed as a coach, which involved interviewing a significant number of individuals, including a former director of the club, Hamilton Smith. As a result of their investigations, the police found no evidence to corroborate that the club was aware of Mr Bennell's offending. The club wishes to make it absolutely clear that had it had any suspicion or belief that Mr Bennell was committing acts of abuse, either before, during or after he left the club's employment, the club would have informed the police immediately. The thoughts of everyone at the club go to the victims and their families at this difficult time."

Before the trial he pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault involving three boys, two of whom were part of the trial.

During the course of his trial, he was described as a "child molester on an industrial scale" who would not just groom his victims, but also their families.

Victims who had been coached by Bennell as boys told how he had a "power hold" over them as they dreamed of becoming professional footballers.

Jackie Lamb, from the Crown Prosecution Service, 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.

Another person with "potential historic connections" to Manchester City has been linked with serious allegations of child sex abuse, the club has said. The Premier League table-toppers launched a QC-led review in November 2016 to investigate whether former City scout Barry Bennell used the club to facilitate abuse of young footballers. The probe is also looking at whether any other paedophile may have used their connections with City to commit offences at any point from 1965 to the present day. As well as identifying Bennell's activities, the review uncovered a second man called John Broome - who is now dead - but is not believed to be linked to Bennell. Manchester City said they are also continuing to "exhaustively examine" a number of reports of "historic anomalous behaviours". Following the end of the trial, City stated: "Firstly, and most importantly, following today's events at Liverpool Crown Court, Manchester City FC offers its heartfelt sympathy to all victims for the unimaginably traumatic experiences they have endured. "No one can remove their suffering or that of others who suffered sexual abuse as children as a result of their involvement with football. All victims were entitled to expect full protection from the kind of harm they endured." The club said it remained in "regular dialogue" with police and the Football Association which is conducting its own widespread investigation into allegations of historical sex abuse.

"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."
Former Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra youth coach Barry Bennell is found guilty of 43 sexual attacks on twelve boys between 1979 and 1990.