Ex-football coach guilty of 45 indecent assaults on teenage boys
A former Southampton and Peterborough youth football coach has been found guilty of 45 charges of indecent assault carried out on teenage boys for more than two decades.
Bob Higgins ran the youth training programs at the two clubs and abused teenage trainees over a period of 25 years.
The Thursday guilty verdicts at Bournemouth Crown Court came after a retrial which heard the 66-year-old had abused his "position of power" over the future careers of young players.
Twenty-three teenage boys were abused, with offences including Higgins groping them after exercises as well as at his home and in his car.
The victims told the court they had thought of Higgins as a mentor and father figure and, consequently, they felt unable to make a complaint because they feared he could end their hopes of a football career.
Higgins, who is set to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court, was emotionless as the verdicts were read out after the nine-week trial and 41 hours of jury deliberations.
Higgins is the latest high-profile prosecution of a former football coach, with 64-year-old Barry Bennell being sentenced to 30 years behind bars in February last year for sexual offences against underage players at Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra.
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