Former UK football coach Bennell convicted of child abuse

London (AFP) – Former youth coach Barry Bennell was found guilty of multiple counts of child sexual abuse on Tuesday in a case that rocked English football, triggering hundreds of revelations.

Bennell, 64, a former coach at Crewe Alexandra who was also associated with Manchester City, is being tried on 48 counts of abuse between 1979 and 1990.

New revelations in 2016 about Bennell, who had previously received three prison sentences for similar offences, prompted more than 350 calls to a special emergency line set up by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Football Association chairman Greg Clarke said at the time there were “moral consequences of failing to deal with some of these issues in the past” and ordered an inquiry into the handling of abuse cases.

The jury on Tuesday delivered partial verdicts and will resume deliberations on Wednesday.

They found Bennell guilty on two charges of indecently assaulting one young boy between 1979 and 1982.

He was convicted of three counts of indecent assault and two counts of buggery against a second complainant.

Bennell was also found guilty of four counts of indecent assault against a third complainant.

Bennell appeared at Liverpool Crown Court in northwest England via videolink due to illness.