Locations
HMP Littlehey & Buxton, Derbyshire
Description
The convicted child sex offender and former football coach Barry Bennell has been jailed for an additional four years as he was sentenced over sexual abuse for a fifth time, reports Daniel Taylor. Bennell was already serving a 31-year prison sentence relating to his time as a coach and talent spotter for Crewe Alexandra and, previously, Manchester City.
Who is Bennell?
Bennell, also known as Richard Jones, coached numerous teams in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire and had almost a quarter of a century working in football, including seven-year associations with Manchester City and Crewe.
In 2017 he was branded sheer evil and the devil incarnate after being sentenced to 30 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court for subjecting junior players to hundreds of sexual offences.
Why was he back in court?
Bennell, 66, had pleaded guilty to three counts of buggery and six counts of indecent assault at an earlier hearing. The offences happened between 1979 and 1988 when the victims were aged between 11 and 14.
On Thursday he appeared via videolink from HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, where he is serving his life sentence.
Judge Patrick Thompson said the sentence would be served consecutively to his current prison term, meaning a total sentence of 34 years in custody, with an additional two years on licence.
Judge Thompson told Bennell: You were a parents worst nightmare.
What else do I need to know?
A police document shows that detectives investigating the Bennell case privately suspected Crewe officials must have known about the crimes that led to him being branded in court as a child abuser on an industrial scale.
As Bennell faces up to the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison, The Athletic can reveal that the police spotlight was also on Crewe over suspicions that people at the club knew Bennell was a potential danger to young boys.
What is Crewes response?
Crewe were contacted by The Athletic on Tuesday but have declined to comment.
Crewe have always denied any knowledge of his crimes but police correspondence makes it clear for the first time that at least one senior member of the serious-crime unit investigating Bennell found it difficult to believe a club of that size knew nothing about it.