Barry Bennell was a former youth football coach and scout in England who was convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse against young boys.
He was born on January 1, 1954, in England and began his career in football as a youth player for Chelsea and later for Crewe Alexandra.
After his playing career ended, Bennell became a coach and scout, working for several clubs including Manchester City, Stoke City and Crewe Alexandra.
Bennell’s abuse of young boys began in the 1970s and continued for several decades.
He used his position of authority and trust to groom and sexually abuse young boys who were under his care.
Paedophile former football coach Barry Bennell has died in prison. pic.twitter.com/Wyyjs3aiP7
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 18, 2023
He was first convicted of sexual offences in the United States in 1994 and was subsequently extradited to the UK to face further charges.
In 2018, Bennell was sentenced to 31 years in prison for 50 counts of sexual abuse against 12 boys between the ages of 8 and 15.
His crimes were described as “sheer evil” by the judge who presided over his trial.
Bennell’s case was one of the largest and most high-profile cases of sexual abuse in the history of English football, and it led to a widespread investigation into child abuse in the sport.
A statement from The Offside trust on the death of Barry Bennell today in prisonhttps://t.co/vmulxHguLw pic.twitter.com/90LHtiwfMv
— Offside Trust (@OffsideTrust) September 18, 2023
Barry Bennell cause of death
Bennell was a former football coach who was found guilty of more than 50 sexual offences against 22 boys.
He died on September 16, 2023, while serving his sentence at HMP Littlehey, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.
Unfortunately, the cause of his death has not been disclosed.
However, Bennell’s death appears to have been sudden, as there were no reports of him being ill or in poor health prior to his death.
The Ministry of Justice announced his death on September 16, 2023, stating that he died in Littlehey prison.