In a significant court ruling, former football star Barry Cable has been acquitted of multiple historical child sexual abuse charges. The 82-year-old faced these serious allegations in a judge-only trial, which scrutinized claims dating back to the late 1960s.
The accusations centered around an alleged incident involving a young girl, approximately eight or nine years old at the time, who was reportedly abused while staying at Cable’s family residence. During this period, she was living with Cable and his wife, Helen, for about a month.
The former Australian Rules player returned to the Western Australian District Court in Perth today for Judge Michael Bowden’s verdict more than a month after the trial ended.
Prosecutors argued that Cable had taken advantage of the girl’s vulnerable situation while she was under his care. In her testimony, the alleged victim recounted that Cable initially showed her kindness.
“He was loving towards me like an uncle,” she testified in March. “Then things changed,” she added, describing a shift that led to the accusations.
“He was loving towards me like an uncle … then things changed,” she said while giving evidence in March.
“He started touching my body.”
The abuse allegedly involved penetrative sex on multiple occasions when the former North Melbourne player’s wife was asleep.
The woman reported the alleged abuse to police in 2023 when she spotted Cable on television, telling the court during the trial that it had “brought back memories of what he had done to me”.
All told, Cable denied five counts of indecent dealing with a girl aged under 13 and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 13 between December 31, 1966 and December 31, 1969.
A civil trial in the same court in 2023 found Cable abused a girl over five years from 1968 when she was aged 12.
The victim was awarded $818,700 in damages.
The civil trial judge said there was compelling evidence the former footballer had violated other children.
Cable, who repeatedly attempted to have the civil case proceedings permanently thrown out and did not attend the trial, denied the abuse.
He was later stripped of his Australian Football Hall of Fame honours following an illustrious playing career in the 1960s and ’70s for Perth and East Perth in the WAFL and North Melbourne in the VFL, going on to coach in both leagues.
He has been dumped from the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and the West Australian Football Commission revoked the former champion’s Hall of Fame membership, including his Legend status.
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