Paedophile Barry Bennell's abuse 'tricks' - silencing victims and horror films
Paedophile Barry Bennell got away with grooming and abusing young boys in his football clubs for decades.
And now at the age of 69, it has been reported that the disgraced former football coach has died whilst serving his 34-year sentence for wicked child offences. The Sun reports that Bennell, who had cancer, passed away in HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire on Saturday. The ex-Crewe Alexandra coach and Manchester City scout was finally convicted of more than 50 sexual offences against 22 boys in 2018 and was handed 30 years behind bars, having already been convicted of child abuse on three other occasions in the UK and the US. In 2020, he was sentenced to four more years for abusing two young boys.
But how did calculated Bennell get away with his disgusting behaviour during the '70s, '80s and early '90s for so long? In a documentary series, Football's Darkest Secret, released in 2021, brave victims retold the abuse they suffered as children at the callous hands of Bennell, and explained the twisted methods he used. From forcing them to watch horror films in his home, to gaining the trust of victims' parents who thought their children were set to be stars with his coaching, here we take a look at how Bennell preyed on young boys...
Winning the trust of families
Bennell won over the trust of victims' parents (PA)Bennell used his position of power to groom and abuse his victims. In a bid to make sure the boys would not speak to their parents and to stop any suspicions, Bennell managed to win the trust of the families of his victims. By getting the parents on side, it made the vulnerable players fear they would not be believed if they did reveal what Bennell was doing to them. After a few months he said he wanted to get to know the boys better and invited them two at a time to stay round his house.
Football writer Danny Taylor, who wrote the first ever story on Bennell's vile crimes, explains: "One of his tricks, and he was very good at it, was winning the trust of the families. Basically all the sisters and mums fancied him, the dads wanted to be like him. If he had the trust of the parents it would increase the kids’ sense they wouldn’t be believed."
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In the case of former Crew Alexandra and Bury player Andy Woodward it went to a horrifying extreme, as Bennell started dating his older sister Lynda. "He had everyone under his spell. I had a big problem as well as he got in a relationship with my sister," explains Woodward.
Woodward, who is noticeably didn't smile in any of the wedding photos, had to watch his grinning abuser walk down the aisle with his sister and become his brother-in-law. Not wanting to go too deeply into the ordeal as it is still hard for his sister and mother, Wooward says it was "wrong on every level". Comparing it to a horror movie, he says: "How I ended up there I’ll never know. It shows you the ultimate control that man had over everyone."
Dark side behind 'spell'
Some of Bennell's victims described how he was a "spellbinding" and "mesmerising" character. The young players started out just wanting to please their coach on the training ground because they believed they would get a chance to play at the higher levels of football.
While he put on a charming front, he very quickly started to display his dark side to intimidate the youngsters. Former youth football Ian Ackley says Bennell was a "strict disciplinarian" who would purposefully mock individuals to demonstrate how nasty he could be. He would single out one or two people for ridicule," explains Ackley in the documentary Football's Darkest Secret.. "That was one of his tactics that showed everybody this ruthless edge to him. Him starting to reveal his darker side actually came relatively quickly."
Bennell also chose specific victims and would get rid of those who opposed him. "I did see it in other boys that perhaps shunned not going to his home. Or maybe were a bit more abrupt with him," adds Gary Cliffe. "They kind of got moved on." Former Crewe player Steve Walters admits he feared Bennell would destroy his career if he discussed the abuse. "You felt like if you spoke out or said anything to anybody your career would be over. Your parents and friends wouldn’t believe you," he adds.
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Barry Bennell appearing via video link before Michael Kent QC at the High Court in London (PA)Grooming 'succession'
Bennell had a pattern of abusing boys, grooming them when they first joined his team then moving on to younger victims when they grew up. "One of the most complex things the boys talked about, they knew there was a succession," says investigative reporter Deborah Davies.
"They knew when they were being groomed up the older boy who was being phased out. And they knew when they became that older boy a younger boy was being groomed." Gary Cliffe was the older boy being abused and could see what was happening to Andy Woodward. Woodward says Cliffe looked after him by cooking him food because Bennell never did.
"I could see the pattern of what he was doing and my time was coming to an end with him," admits Cliffe. "I had massive guilt because you know what's happening to them and you’re in the same bed on occasions but also it allows me to move to another bedroom way from him." Confessing he was torn, Cliffe added: "I know its wrong but I countered that by thinking there were older boys when I was one of the young ones and no one said anything then and it went on and on."
Horror movies
Bennell's home has been described as an "Aladdin's cave of treats" - with his living room full of football gear, DVDs and a huge state of the art TV. He used to terrify the children by putting on horror movies so they were reliant on him for support. "There were a few who were crying their eyes out. They were so scared so they huddled in," explains Woodward. Steve Walters, who would stay in Bennell's house with Woodward, adds: "You'd be petrified so that would make you go closer to him. That was all part of his grooming process."
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