Barry Bennell, a convicted child sex offender, has passed away in prison after “painful days” battling cancer.
Considered one of the most despicable criminals in English football, Bennell was sentenced to 34 years in prison for sexually abusing children. According to The Sun, Bennell died at the age of 69 in Littlehey Prison in Cambridgeshire in September last year.
Bennell was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004, which recurred in 2016. Before his death on September 16, 2003, the former Crewe Alexandra coach could only eat through a feeding tube and communicate in writing.
Elizabeth Gray, a police investigator in the Cambridgeshire area, revealed that “he had to endure many painful episodes towards the end of his life despite receiving medical care from the prison health department.”
The post-mortem examination showed that Bennell died from bronchitis with the underlying cause being throat cancer. Earlier, Bennell had attempted suicide and was found hiding drugs.
A report from prison inspectors concluded that the care Bennell received was “of a good standard and equivalent to the level he would have received in a much larger community.”
Bennell was imprisoned in 2018 after being convicted of 52 offenses related to sexual assault of children, involving a total of 12 victims.
The former Crewe Alexandra coach and Manchester City scout was accused of “sexually abusing young boys.” The actual number of victims could be over 100 young boys.
Bennell exploited his position as a coach to sexually abuse teenagers with dreams of becoming professional footballers.
Bennell often lured young boys to his home with exotic pets including a leopard and a monkey, before taking the victims on trips abroad.
He was first imprisoned in Florida in 1994 for raping an English boy during a football tour in the United States.
Bennell’s heinous sexual offenses led to subsequent prison sentences in England in 1998, 2015, 2018, and 2020.
Among Bennell’s victims, Andy Woodward is one of the rare footballers who publicly revealed his identity. During the trial in 2018, Judge Clement Goldstone called Bennell the “embodiment of evil.”