A leading figure in Premier League football has won a High Court anonymity order to prevent his identity being revealed in a civil case being brought against him for alleged sexual abuse of a teenage girl.
The man in question, a well-known name from England’s top division, is being sued for aggravated damages by a woman who claims she was 15 when the offences allegedly took place in the 1990s.
However, his lawyers have successfully argued to a High Court judge that an order should be made to protect his name from being released by the media.
That order has been made, according to court documents seen by The Athletic, to “protect the interests of the defendant” and “secure the administration of justice.” The judge in the case decided “there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure.”
As such, the case is listed without the defendant’s name in legal documents which state he is accused of sexual abuse and having “committed trespass to the claimant’s person (assault and battery) and intentionally inflicted injury.” This, it is said, has caused psychological harm to his alleged victim.
Lawyers representing the man have put forward a detailed case to the High Court’s King Bench Division arguing that his identity should be protected because of the potential impact it would have for him.
Although privacy rules in the UK grant anonymity to suspects in the early stages of a police investigation (a rule that changes only if the relevant person is charged), that does not usually apply in civil cases where an alleged sexual abuser is being sued for damages.
The Athletic can also reveal that the same man has been investigated by the police for a number of other alleged non-recent sexual offences – including previous allegations of rape and sexual abuse of teenage girls.
In a statement, the relevant police force said it had “received a number of allegations relating to non-recent sexual offences. Our specialist officers carried out an investigation and obtained accounts from victims.
“Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and acting on advice received from them, we have taken the decision that no further action will be taken in relation to a number of the allegations.”
That decision was taken earlier this year.
The alleged victim in the civil case contacted the same police force towards the end of 2021 and her complaint was referred to its specialist unit for investigating sexual offences against under-16s. She alleged the rape took place at the man’s house.
However, detectives investigating her complaint realised it was affected by a little-known legal anomaly — under the 1956 Sexual Offences Act, the UK parliament’s legislation of the time for England and Wales — which the children’s charity NSPCC has described as “devastating” and “heartbreaking” for the people it works against.
Police informed her she had waited too long to report the matter, because the legislation states that if the alleged offence took place between 1956 and 2004, and the alleged victim was a girl aged 13 to 15, she had to make a complaint within a year.
The time limit was abandoned when the 2003 Sexual Offences Act came into place in May 2004 but still applied if the alleged attack happened in the previous 48 years. The legislation applied only to girls aged 13 to 15, not boys.
After what the police have described as a complex investigation, a decision was taken by the CPS for no further action to be taken. The man was not arrested and the case has been left on file.
Although the man’s identity has been protected, it is understood the Football Association’s safeguarding department has been made aware of the allegations against him.
That is relevant in this case because if the FA is aware that somebody within the sport has been accused of child-sex offences — making that person, in theory, a potential risk to girls or boys of a certain age — it has the power to carry out a risk-assessment report and, if necessary, impose an interim suspension order on that individual while the matter is investigated.
As it stands, the man in question continues to work in football and is not thought to have been subject to any safeguarding measures, even though he could potentially be in close proximity to women and girl footballers.
“We have robust safeguarding measures in place and all referrals into us are handled in line with our policies and procedures,“ read an FA statement. ”We investigate and assess all allegations and concerns about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children and adults in football and, where applicable, can impose proportionate safeguarding measures in accordance with FA safeguarding regulations. We do not comment on individual cases.”
If you would like to talk to someone having read this article, you can call the Samaritans in the UK free any time, from any phone, on 116 123.
(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
