16 years for paedophile coach

A football coach from Zaragoza (Aragon) has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for eight separate crimes of child abuse. The 41-year-old had appealed against the sentence, but the original conviction was upheld by the Aragon Supreme Court on Friday. The defendant coached children aged between 11 and 12 and also falsely claimed to be trained as a physical therapist. He used this pretence to spend time alone with the children and abuse them while saying he was carrying out a medical examination. The boys were called in to a room then asked to undress and lie on a table where the accused touched them inappropriately and also talked about matters of a sexual nature. At least one of the children reported this to their parents, who in turn complained to the sports centre. They immediately sacked the coach and reported the incident. The number of boys involved and the consistency of their accounts was sufficient to convince the original jury of the man’s guilt.