Michael Carson – known as ‘Kit’ – died in a car crash yesterday as he was due to start trial for alleged sex offences
An ex-youth football player said he gets ‘no closure’ from the death of his alleged abuser who died as he was due to stand trial accused of attacking 11 boys under the age of 16.
Former youth football coach and scout Michael Sean Carson, also known as ‘Kit’, 75, stood accused of 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Mr Carson, from Cambridge, was charged with the alleged offences at Cambridge Crown Court last year after being arrested in January 2017.
But today it emerged that the defendant, who once tried to sign David Beckham, had died in a car crash after ploughing into a tree yesterday.
There is no suggestion that any players who are named in this article were abused by Mr Carson.
However one man, who must remain anonymous, says that Mr Carson ordered him to lower his shorts in order to inspect his development. He told the Guardian that the death had stood in the way of him getting closure.
‘This is another sad day in the fight for justice in historical child sexual abuse cases,’ he said. ‘It is so difficult to disclose abuse of a sexual nature to start with, and the worry of your account not being believed.
‘I get no closure from this now knowing Kit Carson has not been held accountable for his actions, and the impact those actions had throughout the lives of many boys.’
Mr Carson hit this tree and died just minutes before he was due to stand trial for sex offences at Peterborough Crown Court
Mr Carson (pictured) died in a car crash near Bottisham yesterday as he was set to stand trial for alleged sex offences
Mr Carson tried to sign David Beckham for Norwich City while he was working as a youth scout and coach for the club, it emerged today.
Mr Carson joined Norwich City as youth manager in 1983, staying at the club for a decade. In 1987, he hosted 12 boys – including Beckham – from Ridgeway Rovers, Essex.
Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press newspaper in 2002, Carson said: ‘The 12 boys came and they stayed at a youth hostel in Norwich.
‘We trained every day at Trowse, and I enlisted the help of two young players, Robert Ullathorne and Jason Minnett.’
While working at the club, Carson worked with children aged nine to 16, training future Premier League stars Chris Sutton and Ruel Fox.
Prosecutor Jeremy Benson revealed the defendant’s death at Peterborough Crown Court this morning, saying: ‘The position is that the defendant died yesterday morning. He was involved in a road traffic collision at about 9.45am yesterday morning.
‘No other vehicles were involved and there is an investigation being carried out and therefore I don’t propose to go into any other detail.’
Mr Carson was killed about seven miles east of Cambridge as he was due to head north to Peterborough to stand trial for sex offences. He did not appear to be following a route to court when he crashed
Mr Carson (pictured) died yesterday just minutes before he was due to stand trial for alleged sex offences against boys
Mr Carson (pictured) died in a car crash yesterday just minutes before he was due to stand trial for alleged sex offences
This morning Peterborough Crown Court (pictured) was told that Mr Carson had died in a car crash yesterday
Cambridgeshire Police confirmed in a statement that he was driving his red Mazda 3 when it left the road and went into a tree on the A1303 at Bottisham, around seven miles east of Cambridge.
A force spokesman said: ‘Emergency services attempted to save Mr Carson’s life but he was declared dead at the scene a short time later. No other vehicle or person was involved in the collision.’
Inspector Amarjit Singh QPM told the court the body of Carson was formally identified by his wife Pauline Carson.
Judge Matthew Lowe ruled that the case file be closed. The alleged sex offences happened from 1978 to 2009 and involved 11 boys under the age of 16.
Mr Carson’s bail conditions included not coaching football or being involved in the scouting process.
Carson, who denied the charges, previously worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.
He also worked extensively in Finland where he began coaching youth teams in 2012, taking UK youth teams on competitive tours of the country. The trial was due to be presided over by Judge Matthew Lowe.