Ex-football coach Bob Higgins GUILTY of 45 charges of indecent assault

Ex-football coach Bob Higgins has today been found guilty at Bournemouth Crown Court of 45 charges of indecent assault against teenage boys. 

The 66-year-old was on trial accused of abusing 24 aspiring footballers between 1971 and 1996. 

He ran youth team coaching for Southampton Football Club and Peterborough United and the court heard he used his position of ‘supreme power’ to abuse boys, several of whom went on to become professional players. 

During the trial Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, told jurors that the allegations against Higgins were made after ex-pro player Andy Woodward, of Crewe Alexandra, appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme and spoke of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of another coach.

He said this led to the NSPCC charity setting up a helpline and added: ‘The telephone started to ring and one name was mentioned over and over again – that is the name of Bob Higgins, this defendant.’

Mr Feest explained that Higgins was a ‘talented coach’ who was ‘idolised’ by the young players and described as a ‘kingmaker’ because of the extent of his reputation and influence.

One complainant viewed Higgins as a ‘father figure’ and described him as ‘like a God’, the prosecutor said.

He added that ‘young teenagers often turned down more prestigious clubs so that they could train with him at Southampton FC hoping that by doing so they would have the best possible chance of becoming professional footballers’. 

Higgins used ‘typical grooming behaviour’ targeting vulnerable victims, according to the senior prosecutor responsible for bringing the case to court.

He was convicted at a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict on 48 counts of indecent assault at Winchester Crown Court last summer.

Higgins was convicted of one offence at last year’s trial and cleared of one other count. 

Higgins, pictured outside court with his coat hood up yesterday, was on trial accused of abusing 24 aspiring footballers between 1971 and 1996

Claire Booth, of the specialist rape and sexual offences (Raso) unit of the Wessex Crown Prosecution Service, said Higgins gained the trust of the young players and their families to enable his offending.

She said: ‘Mr Higgins was regarded by many as a star-maker, he was a very successful football coach and he was very popular.

‘He, we say, would target vulnerable victims or those he perceived to be vulnerable, he gained their trust, he gained the trust of their family members, he was very much liked by the victims and their families, they trusted him with their careers and they really felt that he held their future in his hands.

‘He was able to use that power to manipulate these victims into behaving in certain ways to satisfy his own needs.’

Ms Booth explained that although Higgins used typical grooming behaviour he was not charged with this as an offence because the legislation did not exist at the time of the offences.

The former football coach, pictured leaving court in a car and obscuring his face with a shopping bag, abused his ‘position of extreme power’ to molest youngsters

She said: ‘As we have heard from a number of victims and witnesses in this case, Mr Higgins’ behaviour would today probably be considered as grooming behaviour, he was a predatory paedophile who manipulated a number of boys.

‘We had a large number of victims who were able to give us background information about Mr Higgins and his behaviour.’

‘These offences are non-recent and the grooming offences only came into force in 2004 so Mr Higgins could only be charged under the legislation that was in force at the time he committed the offences.’

Ms Booth said the abuse carried out by Higgins had a long-term impact on the victims.

She added: ‘It’s been a huge step for some of these victims, some victims have been able to talk to family members over the years and they have had that support but some victims felt unable to talk to anybody and the first time they spoke of Mr Higgins’ abuse was to the police during this investigation.’