Football youth coach abused boy with ‘pretty bleak’ home life, court told

A former youth coach at Crewe Alexandra FC groomed and sexually abused a teenager, a court has heard.

Paul McCann, 57, became a “surrogate father” to the youngster, who had a difficult home life, “spoiling” him by paying for holidays and taking him on football tours, Chester Crown Court heard.

But McCann, who worked as a part-time youth coach for the under-16s team at Crewe, also regularly abused his victim, a jury was told.

The defendant, of Great Sutton, Cheshire, denies six counts of indecent assault between November 1987 and November 1990.

At the time of the alleged abuse at McCann’s family home in Crewe and a local squash club, he was in his late 20s and the complainant was 15 to 17.

Owen Edwards, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury of six men and six women that McCann began to groom the teenager when the boy’s family were “down on their luck”, while the defendant had a well-paid job for oil giant Shell.

Mr Edwards said: “To the outside world Paul McCann was a decent young man helping to raise a teenager. Sadly Paul McCann’s intervention was too good to be true and his interest in the teenager was sexual.

“He was effectively groomed by a man who was meant to be a father figure.”

The court heard McCann met the boy’s family on holiday abroad and they got on well because both were interested in sport, and at the end of the holiday a “very loose arrangement” was made to keep in touch.

Soon after, McCann was playing “an extremely important part in the teenager’s life”.

Mr Edwards told the jury: “The teenager stayed regularly at Paul McCann’s home. He was a coach at Crewe under-16s football team and he would quite regularly have young boys at his house in order to attend football matches and training.”

McCann suggested to the teenager’s family that he could take him on a free holiday and, as his home life was “pretty bleak”, the family agreed.

During the holiday McCann took the opportunity to abuse the youngster for the first time – the start of regular abuse over the following three years, it is alleged.

When the youngster stayed at McCann’s home he would sleep in a top bunk with another youngster in the bunk below.

McCann “enjoyed the risk” of going into the room to sexually touch his victim and perform a sex act on him, the jury heard.

The victim, “wondered about what this meant, about his own sexuality and asked himself, ‘Why me?’”, the court was told.

More abuse occurred in the changing rooms of a squash club after the two had showered, the court heard.

The abuse ended abruptly after the defendant’s job took him to live abroad but the teenager was left “scarred” by the relationship, Mr Edwards said.

He began to “slowly” open up about the alleged abuse.

McCann had bought the teenager a signet ring for his 18th birthday, but years later while on a cruise with his wife he chose to throw it into the sea, the court heard.

After the defendant was arrested and interviewed by police last year he denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Edwards added: “He made it clear he was heterosexual, he never abused the trust shown in him by the teenager or his family.

“He was effectively a victim of false claims when there was a wave of claims being made against football clubs and football coaches.”

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday morning.